Current and historic endpoints of US highway 90 in Van Horn TX

View a map showing this route.

Additional research and/or photo credits: Nathan Edgars; Chris Elbert; Alan Hamilton; Karin and Martin Karner; Alex Nitzman

Of course there wasn't always an Interstate 10 running through Van Horn TX, so the historic endpoint of US 90 was at its intersection with US 80. That route is no longer in commission west of Dallas, but it used to run through Van Horn on its way to El Paso and San Diego. In Van Horn that road is known as Broadway, and today it's signed as Business Loop I-10 through town. I-10 parallels Broadway, running about four blocks to the south. Modern signage leaves some doubt as to whether the US 90 designation still ends at Broadway, or whether it now ends at I-10. Let's begin by heading east on I-10:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

That's Van Horn's central interchange. If you take that exit, the assembly shown below greets you at the bottom of the offramp:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

From that, it would seem that US 90 begins to the right, and TX 54 begins to the left. Technically, US 90 also goes left, but there's not much point in signing it that direction. Now, let's approach this intersection from the right, by heading north on Van Horn Drive:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

No help there. The assembly visible in the distance (on the other side of the overpasses) looks like this:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

Continuing ahead a few blocks, we reach the true west end of US 90:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

That's at the junction with historic US 80 (or Broadway). The assembly at the intersection itself looks like this:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006 (unchanged as of Dec. 2011)

Not much in the way of interesting signage at the end of US 90's 1600-mile journey across the country. Plus, we're already on TX 54, so the fact that this sign says "TO TX 54" is a little misleading (we'll see more of that later).

Anyway, half a block to the right, TX 54 goes north (left) on La Caverna Street. Apparently in 1939 the US 90 designation was extended along that route to US 62 near Pine Springs TX. But according to official records it was truncated back to Van Horn less than a year later - which was probably before that segment ever had a chance to be posted with US 90 shields. Here's a shot from that junction:

Elbert, Mar. 2006

Today that's the north end of TX 54. Pine Springs is about 5 miles ahead, as is the entrance to Guadalupe Mountains National Park (which preserves several interesting geological features, including Guadalupe Peak: at 8749 feet, the highest point in Texas. The mountain visible in the distance is El Capitan, which is a shoulder of Guadalupe). For a time eastbound US 90 was at least planned to end here. Perhaps someone realized it didn't make sense to sign this 60-mile north-south segment with an east-west number. At any rate, that idea was short-lived. Below, we're back to Van Horn:

Karners, Dec. 2011

That's southbound on La Caverna, where it reaches Broadway. In 1976 the TX 54 designation was extended to the right (and then left to I-10), but signage at this junction refers to that movement only as "TO US 90". Same thing heading west on Broadway:

Elbert, Mar. 2006 (unchanged as of Dec. 2011)

To the right on La Caverna is northbound TX 54. Technically that route also continues ahead, making a left turn a half-block ahead (onto Van Horn Drive, with US 90). Signage ahead looks like this:

Hamilton, 2002 (unchanged as of Dec. 2011)

The west beginning of US 90 is to the left. Here's signage from the opposite direction (east on Van Horn):

Karners, Dec. 2011

If you take that right turn onto Van Horn, you soon come the I-10 interchange:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006 (unchanged as of Dec. 2011)

The signage on the other side of the overpasses hopefully prompts drivers to check their fuel gauge before leaving town:

Nitzman, Jan. 2006

These westernmost miles of US 90 are in a starkly dry region - quite a contrast to the climate at the east end of the route, photos from which are available on the main US 90 page.