End of US highway 87
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Robert Brooks; Chris Elbert; Jerry Millsap; Mike Wiley; me
| Approx. time period | North terminus | South terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1934 | Piegan, MT | Rawlins, WY |
| 1934-1935 | Great Falls, MT | Rawlins, WY |
| 1935-1949(?) | Great Falls, MT | Port Lavaca, TX |
| 1949(?)-present | Havre, MT | Port Lavaca, TX |
When it was first commissioned in 1926, the south end of US 87 was in Rawlins WY. The photo below is looking south on 3rd Street (Business US 287) where it intersects Spruce Street (US 30):
me, Mar. 2001
Today US 30 and Business 287 (former mainline 287, and for the most part it's still signed that way) are co-signed straight ahead for a couple blocks and then left. But when US 87 served Rawlins, it ended here at US 30. The signage is shown close-up below:
me, Mar. 2001
The photo below shows the former south beginning of US 87:
me, Mar. 2001
That's looking north on 3rd at Spruce. The shot below shows the signage from eastbound Spruce (US 30) at 3rd:
me, Mar. 2001
In 1936, this part of US 87 became US 287, and the US 87 designation was changed to its present corridor through Cheyenne.
Originally the north end of US 87 was at Piegan, on the Canada border (where US 89 ends now). You can view photos from there on this page. In 1934, US 89 was extended north and joined US 87 at Armington MT (southeast of Great Falls). The two were co-signed into that city, where US 87 then ended, with US 89 taking over its former route up to Piegan. You can view photos of the Great Falls endpoint on this page.
The next year, the south end of US 87 was extended all the way down to its present terminus in Port Lavaca TX. The shot below shows the last southbound marker on Main Street...
Brooks,
July 2010
...although you're actually heading northeast there - the southernmost point on US 87 is about a half-mile behind the camera. The route ends a few blocks ahead, near the "Lavaca" theater sign visible in the distance (you'll see more of that sign below). This next shot was taken just ahead, at the south end of US 87:
Wiley, 2000
The cross road is Commerce Street, or TX hwy. 238 (the sign pointing left said "To TX 35", but that's no longer there as of 2010). Straight ahead is Lavaca Bay and Point Comfort. If you were to go right here, and then turn around, you'd see the assembly shown in the photo below:
Brooks,
July 2010
That marks the south beginning of US 87. The sign below reads "Where Highway 87 Ends the Party Begin" [sic]. Robert notes it's interesting that sometimes even non-road-geeks notice things like highway endpoints. The beginning from the opposite direction is signed thus:
Wiley, 2000
That's heading southeast on Commerce, just before the intersection with Main - and the south beginning of US 87. Straight ahead is also part of Lavaca Bay; the Gulf of Mexico itself is 20 or 30 miles in that direction. The assembly shown there is also visible at far left in the photo below:
Brooks,
July 2010
That's an overview of the intersection where US 87 begins. At right is the aforementioned "Lavaca" sign, shown close-up below...
Wiley, 2000
...and next we have an even-closer shot of the first northbound sign:
Brooks,
July 2010
From here, US 87 takes you further southwest for about a half-mile; then west for about 4 more; and then finally northwest towards Victoria... and Havre MT.
It was in about 1949 that the US 87 designation was extended northeastward to Havre. It's been hard to come by detailed maps of Havre from that far back, but we do know this: southwest of town, US 87 initially followed Old Post Road / 11th Street to 1st Avenue; north one block; east on 10th Street to 5th Avenue; then north to end at US 2. But the question is: where was US 2? Some maps seem to indicate it ran on 2nd Street (at least on the west side of town), not 1st Street (as it does today). The shot below is looking north on 5th Av:
Elbert,
July 2008
US 87 could've ended here (at 2nd St), or else it continued one block ahead (ending at 1st St). The photo below is looking west on 1st St (west on US 2):
Elbert,
July 2008
This portion of 1st was probably always US 2 - if so, then US 87 once began to the left on 5th Av. But some maps suggest that, somewhere ahead, US 2 transitioned over to 2nd St. And some maps suggest that US 87 once headed north from Old Post/11th St via C.R. 651, ending at 2nd St. Below is a photo from there:
Elbert,
July 2008
That's looking north on 651 (possible old US 87) at 2nd (possible old US 2). Anyway: by the late 1950s, US 87 had been changed to its current alignment, which junctions with US 2 a few miles west of town:
Millsap, 2000
That's heading north on US 87; ahead in the distance, down at the bottom of the Milk River valley, you can see the "T" intersection where the highway ends. The shot below was taken from that junction:
Millsap, 2000
That's the Burlington Northern going by. Downtown Havre is about three miles east (to the right). The sign against the "Evergreen" car above is shown close-up below:
Millsap, 2000
Below we're looking west on US 2:
Elbert, July 2004
The north beginning of US 87 is to the left. Below is a view from the opposite direction:
Elbert, July 2004
The control city to the right is Great Falls; the signage in the distance is shown close-up below:
Elbert, July 2004
If you take that turn, you'll soon see the first southbound confirming marker:
Elbert, July 2004