Before the road was established, TxDOT had previously assigned the road's numerical designation to two other roads in eastern Texas.
Route description
FM 1776 begins at I-10 Exit 248 as a northward extension of the US 67 roadway which approaches from the southwest from Alpine and merges with I-10.[3][4] The two-lane road continues to the north beneath the US 285 underpass and reaches Coyanosa.[4][5] North of Coyanosa, FM 1776 joins and follows FM 1450 for a one-half-mile (0.8 km) stretch southeast of the city of Pecos before turning off to the northeast. The road then leaves Pecos County at the Pecos River and crosses into Ward County where it intersects FM 1927 south of Pyote. The road then proceeds to the northeast crossing FM 1219 between Royalty and Wickett before terminating at SH 18 approximately 8 miles (13 km) south of Monahans.[4][6]
FM 1776 was briefly designated on February 17, 1955 along a Grimes County route from FM 149 in Richards southeastward toward Dacus to the Montgomery County line. The designation of the 6.2-mile (10.0 km) route did not survive the year before being combined with FM 1486 on November 2 of that year.[1]
The current route was designated on October 25, 1955 (numbered after the above elimination) between FM 1450 and SH 18.[2] The road was extended southward through Coyanosa to US 67 and US 290, the predecessor route to I-10 in much of western Texas, on May 6, 1964.[1]
Construction began on the US 285 interchange in 2011 and was completed the following year.[7] The interchange was funded through a 2009 safety bond program due to a history of fatal accidents.[8]
^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2012). Texas County Mapbook(PDF) (Map) (2012 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 146. OCLC867856197. Retrieved November 11, 2013.[dead link]
^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2012). Texas County Mapbook(PDF) (Map) (2012 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 145. OCLC867856197. Retrieved November 11, 2013.[dead link]
^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2012). Texas County Mapbook(PDF) (Map) (2012 ed.). 1:120,000. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 144. OCLC867856197. Retrieved November 11, 2013.[dead link]
