100 years of US routes: 1926-2026

Endpoints of
US Route 81

View a map showing this route.

1926-1991

North: Pembina, ND
South: Laredo, TX

1991-present

North: Pembina, ND
South: Ft. Worth, TX

Mileage: as of 2020, US 81 measures 1222.6 miles in total distance. Want historic mileages? Our handy reference book includes the mileages that were published in all 13 of AASHO/AASHTO's historic route logs (spanning the years 1927 to 1989).

US 81 was an original 1926 route, connecting the international ports of entry at Pembina ND and Laredo TX (more info on those pages). It was not until 1991 that the south end of US 81 was truncated to its current terminus in Fort Worth (and signage may have remained until 1993). I went to school in Waco from 1986-1990, and US 81 was clearly marked all through town at the time. A few people have written to let me know about US 81 signs that were still posted in central and south Texas long after the route had been truncated. Here is one:

Brooks, Sep. 2004

That was a brand-new sign at the time, and all the signs for that exit on southbound I-35 consistently showed the US shield at the time (however, northbound signs use the Texas highway marker, which is the correct designation for that road). Sometimes the entity replacing the highway signs (whether that is the DOT or a contractor) will first do an existing-sign inventory, and then just replace them verbatim -- without giving any thought to whether or not the old signs were correct. At any rate, all mistake US 81 signage in Texas had been fixed by 2006.

Ft. Worth

Today US 81 exists only north of its junction with I-35W (exit 60, in north Fort Worth). Here are shots of the signage at the south beginning from northbound I-35W/US 287 (both from the free lanes and the express lanes)...

Ivy/Nitzman, Sep. 2009

Sanderson, Mar. 2025

...and here is a photo from southbound I-35W:

Nelson, May 2006

After taking that exit, the first northbound US 81 marker looks like this:

Ivy/Nitzman, Sep. 2009

Heading the opposite direction, the last southbound marker is posted after the onramp from FM 156:

Sanderson, Mar. 2012

There is no further mention of US 81, nor any indication that it ends about a mile ahead, but these next photos show where the designation ends as it merges with southbound I-35W:

Sanderson, Mar. 2012

Morrison, Sep. 2018

Incidentally, the US 287 designation does not end there, but rather continues ahead with I-35W for a few miles before exiting again.

Pembina

The north end of US 81 has always extended to the Canada line. This photo was looking west on ND hwy. 5 at I-29's interchange 203, near Joliette:

Wilson

Northbound US 81 comes towards the camera, but instead of ending at this interchange, it is co-signed north with I-29 to the border at Pembina. This photo illustrates what that port of entry looks like: