I-369 currently begins at US 59/Loop 151 and goes three miles (4.8 km) north where it currently ends at I-30.[3] It does not currently connect with I-69.
History
At its meeting on November 15, 2012, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved a 118-mile-long (190 km) highway to be numbered I-369, to connect I-69 in Tenaha to I-30 in Texarkana.[5] The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the designation on May 24, 2013,[6] and the Texas Transportation Commission followed suit on May 30, 2013.[7] This action also finalized the designations of other Interstates in Texas.[6] This action meant that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) could commence the signing of I-369, as well as the other route segments cited, at their discretion. The signage was installed and revealed on September 23, 2013.[1] New signage that included exit numbers and mileposts[8] corresponding to the whole proposed length was installed the week of June 22, 2020.[9]
Future
Plans call for I-369 to begin at US 59/US 84/Future I-69 in Tenaha, then head north along US 59, serving Carthage, Marshall, Jefferson, and Atlanta before entering Texarkana and merging onto its current routing at the western terminus of Loop 151 and terminating at I-30. The status of the Texarkana to Tenaha segment is unfinished; most of it is currently only in the planning and development stage, although a few construction projects have been started.[10]
The proposed routing of I-369 in the Marshall area has the Interstate running east of the city and using part of the existing Loop 390 corridor.[11] Construction, which was slated to begin in 2025 before being pushed out to 2026, will be done in three phases.[12] The first phase (the middle section) will extend Loop 390 southward US 80 east of Marshall southward to I-20. Frontage roads will also be constructed along both I-20 and Loop 390 along with multiple new bridges, underpasses, and roundabouts. The other two phases, both of which are currently unfunded with construction not scheduled to start until 2033 or 2034, will be to extend and upgrade parts Loop 390 to reconnect back to the current US 59 both north and south of Marshall.[10]
Public feedback on the middle section, which will would require 536 acres (217 ha) of new right-of-way and potentially displace 25 residences, four commercial buildings, and two utility locations, was requested in September 2023.[13][14] Another project to upgrade the US 59/Farm to Market Road 1794 intersection in Grand Bluff to an interchange is currently under construction.[15]
Studies on upgrades on US 59 between Queen City and Texarkana began in mid-2017 and ended in September 2018.[16] Public feedback for the upgrades was also requested from late July to mid-August 2018.[16][17][18] Although currently unfunded, TxDOT anticipates letting sections of this project in either 2033 or 2034.[10]
^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Highway Designations Glossary". Texas Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2020.