Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway that is in the process of being built in the US state of Texas. It is part of a longer I-69 extension known as the NAFTA superhighway, that, when completed, will connect Canada to Mexico. In Texas, it will connect Tenaha and the Louisiana segment of the route through the eastern part of the state and along the Texas Gulf Coast to Victoria, where it will split into three branches: I-69E to Brownsville, I-69C to Pharr, and I-69W to Laredo. The first segment of I-69 in Texas was opened in 2011 near Corpus Christi. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved an additional of US 77 from Brownsville to the Willacy–Kenedy county line for designation as I-69, which was to be signed as I-69E upon concurrence from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). FHWA approval for this segment was announced on May 29, 2013. By March 2015, a section of US 59 had been completed and designated as I-69 through Greater Houston. , short segments near the southern terminuses of the three branch routes have also all been completed. These branches are planned to be connected.
Route description
The congressionally designated I-69 corridor begins at the Mexican border with three auxiliary routes: I-69W begins at the entrance to the World Trade International Bridge, which connects to Mexican Federal Highway 85D (Fed. 85D), near the border in Laredo. It is cosigned with both US 59 and State Highway Loop 20 (Loop 20; Bob Bullock Loop) and extends to I-35 (which connects to Fed. 85 south of the border). It will continue on US 59 east to George West, where it will intersect I-69C, it will then intersect I-37 east of George West, and it will then continue east to Victoria. I-69C (with connections to Fed. 97) begins in Pharr at I-2 and is designated for through Edinburg and cosigned with US 281. It will continue north along US 281 to George West, where it will intersect I-69W and terminate at this point. I-69E begins just north of the Veterans International Bridge, which connects to both Fed. 101 and Fed. 180, near the border in Brownsville and continues for through Olmito, where it intersects I-169, and through Harlingen, where it intersects I-2, past Raymondville to the Willacy–Kenedy county line, and cosigned with US 77; it is also cosigned with US 83 from Brownsville to Harlingen. The route will follow the US 77 corridor north to Corpus Christi, where a segment is already designated as I-69E and cosigned with US 77 and also intersects I-37, and it will then continue north to Victoria.
I-69W and I-69E will merge just south of Victoria, Texas, where mainline I-69 will follow US 59 northeast to Fort Bend County. In Greater Houston, I-69 follows US 59 (Southwest Freeway) from Fort Bend County to the west loop of I-610. I-69 then follows US 59 (Eastex Freeway) from the north loop of I-610 to the Montgomery–Liberty county line. The segment of US 59 inside the I-610 loop, through Downtown Houston, was approved for designation as I-69 by the FHWA on March 9, 2015, and approved for signage as I-69 by the Texas Transportation Commission on March 25, 2015.
I-69 will follow US 59 to the north, serving Cleveland, Shepherd, Livingston, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, and Tenaha. In Tenaha, I-69 will head into Louisiana along the US 84 corridor. The segment of US 59 from Tenaha to Texarkana will be signed as I-369.