anyone driven up US 59 from houston to texarkana recently?

[ElFenix]

anyone have any recent experience driving it? bunch of small towns along the way and it's not interstate grade so i'm concerned about traffic lights and construction. it's about 70 miles shorter to memphis going that way than google's suggested route of taking I-55 north from new orleans, which google thinks takes about 20 minutes less.

concerned about construction on the interstates

 

[Crusty]

No experience on 59 going that way, but I recently went up I-35 from Austin through Dallas onto I-30 and then onto I-40 through Memphis and it wasn't too bad. I think 59 and I-30 cross paths in Texarkana as well.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Crusty
No experience on 59 going that way, but I recently went up I-35 from Austin through Dallas onto I-30 and then onto I-40 through Memphis and it wasn't too bad. I think 59 and I-30 cross paths in Texarkana as well.

last time i drove 30 and 40 in arkansas the whole thing was under construction. good to hear it's not all being rebuilt.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Haven't driven it, but knowing Texas, pay damn close attention to the speed zones in those little towns.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Haven't driven it, but knowing Texas, pay damn close attention to the speed zones in those little towns.

That's why I like to stick to the interstates, no fucking traffic lights on the highway. US-290 is the worst going west towards Austin. 35mph on a highway ftl.

 

[Paratus]

Not recently but I used to make that'd rive twice a week when I commuted to Ashdown Ark. This was 10 years ago.

The lights aren't to bad, normally but there were alot of cops out. I was pulled over 3 weeks in a row by bored cops. Never got a ticket however. I should also state that I drove it mostly late evening and night.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Crusty

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Haven't driven it, but knowing Texas, pay damn close attention to the speed zones in those little towns.

That's why I like to stick to the interstates, no fucking traffic lights on the highway. US-290 is the worst going west towards Austin. 35mph on a highway ftl.

I-10 to 71 ftw

and you can stop in la grange or ellinger and get kolaches

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Crusty

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Haven't driven it, but knowing Texas, pay damn close attention to the speed zones in those little towns.

That's why I like to stick to the interstates, no fucking traffic lights on the highway. US-290 is the worst going west towards Austin. 35mph on a highway ftl.

I-10 to 71 ftw

and you can stop in la grange or ellinger and get kolaches

Don't forget the chopped beef sandwich at Peter's in Ellinger. Cheapest best BBQ sandwich I've had in a long time

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I'm in Texarkana.

Don't take 59. Lots of small towns, and the closer you get to Texarkana, the more construction you'll run into. South of Jefferson to Texarkana is all one lane. Add in traffic lights, etc. and it's slow.

Just take I45 through Dallas, then get on I30 from Dallas to Little Rock, then I40 on over to Memphis. Supremely boring drive, but no construction except for a bit this side of Little Rock.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
I'm in Texarkana.

Don't take 59. Lots of small towns, and the closer you get to Texarkana, the more construction you'll run into. South of Jefferson to Texarkana is all one lane. Add in traffic lights, etc. and it's slow.

Just take I45 through Dallas, then get on I30 from Dallas to Little Rock, then I40 on over to Memphis. Supremely boring drive, but no construction except for a bit this side of Little Rock.

don't think i'll be taking 59 north of marshall then. another suggested route is to go over to shreveport and then take 549 up. looks like it's expressway once you get into arkansas.

going to dallas is another 40 miles longer than going to new orleans and then up.

Originally posted by: Crusty

Don't forget the chopped beef sandwich at Peter's in Ellinger. Cheapest best BBQ sandwich I've had in a long time

i've always meant to stop by but usually i hit the kolache place. with such a recommendation i'll be sure to hit it next time i pass through.

 

[JDMnAR1]

There is quite a bit of construction on I-30 right at Texarkana, but it hasn't seemed to impact traffic either of the two times I have been through there in the past month. Your biggest challenge on I-40 isn't going to be construction, it is going to be the seemingly daily big rig rollover accident that backs traffic up for hours. Of course, should you encounter that you can hop off onto US 70 and divert around it.

Edit: Make sure you wave when you drive by my house!

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Yes it's kinda funny. Taking interstate from Houston to Texarkana is like 120 miles further than going straight 59, but is about 5 minutes faster.

I haven't been south of Marshall recently. You may consider taking 59 up to 259. 259 will head straight into I30 around Mount Pleasant.

I really advise against going through Louisiana. The state troopers are merciless through there, along the state borders anyway. If you don't speed at all, you may be ok.

Edit: Oh yeah, there is construction in Texarkana. And sometimes they are down to single lane, but traffic never is stopped. You can get through the construction with a 10 min delay at most. Most of the time it's clear, as the construction is actually on bridges going over I30.

 

[ElFenix]

i'm more and more liking the drive to new orleans route. then i can stop and have lunch in new orleans. and that's never a bad option.

 

[LordMorpheus]

I've rolled up 59 north to texarkana a whole bunch of times, but the most recently was maybe 1.5 years ago. The road was fine, then, no idea about now.

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i'm more and more liking the drive to new orleans route. then i can stop and have lunch in new orleans. and that's never a bad option.

Traffic in NOLA is bloody awful. If you are pressed for time I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
anyone have any recent experience driving it? bunch of small towns along the way and it's not interstate grade so i'm concerned about traffic lights and construction. it's about 70 miles shorter to memphis going that way than google's suggested route of taking I-55 north from new orleans, which google thinks takes about 20 minutes less.

concerned about construction on the interstates

yes i drove it in may when we took my moms remains up to texarkana to be next to my dads. its a long ass drive, like you said lots of small towns and lots of stop lights. from Magnolia it took us 7 hours to drive it. we made a round trip and we didnt get back to my sisters house in magnolia until 1am, we left at 7am.

the eastern part of Texas does need North/south interstate badly. turning 59 into a interstate would be good for travel and trucking but bad for small town business.

our route was I-45 North to 79 East then 59 north.

 

[Chryso]

I took 55 north from NO to Memphis in the last month. There was a little construction but not much. It was an easy, if boring, drive.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Crusty

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Haven't driven it, but knowing Texas, pay damn close attention to the speed zones in those little towns.

That's why I like to stick to the interstates, no fucking traffic lights on the highway. US-290 is the worst going west towards Austin. 35mph on a highway ftl.

I-10 to 71 ftw

and you can stop in la grange or ellinger and get kolaches

the only kolaches worth a damn are made in West Texas. I cant stand getting a sausage kolache and it has a sausage link in it (in most cases a damn hot dog). the sausage Kolaches in West put ground pork in theirs and are beyond awesome.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Citrix

the only kolaches worth a damn are made in West Texas. I cant stand getting a sausage kolache and it has a sausage link in it (in most cases a damn hot dog). the sausage Kolaches in West put ground pork in theirs and are beyond awesome.

technically if it has meat in it it's not a kolache




7 hours from magnolia to texfarkana is too much. and i'm starting off nearly an hour south of magnolia in katy.

Originally posted by: Chryso
I took 55 north from NO to Memphis in the last month. There was a little construction but not much. It was an easy, if boring, drive.

long and boring is good by me. anything good to eat along the way (since i probably won't make the detour into NO)?

 

[ShockwaveVT]

If you choose to take 59 through east Texas remember that you make be arrested for speeding and any cash or valuables in your possession may be "confiscated". I can't believe you haven't heard the horror stories about cops in Nacogdoches and the other small east Texas towns along US 59 and the other state highways. If you're white your chances of being harassed/extorted by the police are much lower, but still significantly higher than along the interstates or anywhere else in the U.S.

cliffs: never drive through east Texas unless its on an Interstate.