US Highway ends in Corpus Christi TX

Photo credits: Stephen Taylor

Highway Approx. time period
US 181 1926-present
US 77 1935-1945

US 181 has served Corpus from the start, beginning in 1926. The US 77 designation was extended south from Dallas in the mid-1930s, and for about 10 years it was co-signed with 181 from Sinton to a common terminus in Corpus. According to the 1940 TXDoT map, US 77/181 crossed over from Portland and came into Corpus on Water Street. The US routing appears to have ended at Peoples Street, where there was a junction with a couple other state highways:

Taylor, Oct. 2007

That's looking south on Water, where the US designations ended at Peoples (obviously that scene has changed a lot since the 1930s). Below we're looking the opposite direction:

Taylor, Oct. 2007

Ahead was the south beginning of US 77/181. The Gulf of Mexico is just a couple blocks to the right. One more perspective - below we're looking west on Peoples:

Taylor, Oct. 2007

To the right on Water was the beginning of US 77/181.


As with most cities, a lot of changes have taken place in Corpus since the 1930s. US 77 was rerouted such that it bypassed town to the west. US 181 traffic began using the Harbor Bridge during the 1950s, and its terminus was changed after I-37 was built. You can view my main US 181 page for more info and photos.