Editing Wichita Falls, Texas (section)

===Highways===
Wichita Falls is the western terminus for [[Interstate 44 in Texas|Interstate 44]]. [[United States Numbered Highways|U.S. Highways]] leading to or through Wichita Falls include [[U.S. Route 287 in Texas|287]], [[U.S. Route 277 in Texas|277]], [[U.S. Route 281 in Texas|281]], and [[U.S. Route 82 in Texas|82]]. [[State Highway 240 (Texas)|State Highway 240]] ends at Wichita Falls and [[State Highway 79 (Texas)|State Highway 79]] runs through it. Wichita Falls has one of the largest freeway mileages for a city of its size{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} as a result of a 1954 bond issue approved by city and county voters to purchase rights-of-way for several expressway routes through the city and county, the first of which was opened in the year 1958 as an alignment of U.S. 287 from Eighth Street at Broad and Holliday Streets northwestward across the Wichita River and bisecting Lucy and Scotland Parks to the Old Iowa Park Road, the original U.S. 287 alignment.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} That was followed by other expressway links including U.S. 82–287 east to [[Henrietta, Texas|Henrietta]] (completed in the year 1968), U.S. 281 south toward [[Jacksboro, Texas|Jacksboro]] (completed 1969), U.S. 287 northwest to [[Iowa Park, Texas|Iowa Park]] and [[Electra, Texas|Electra]] (opened 1962), Interstate 44 north to [[Burkburnett, Texas|Burkburnett]] and the Red River (opened 1964), and Interstate 44 from Old Iowa Park Road to U.S. 287/Spur 325 interchange on the city's north side along with Spur 325 from I-44/U.S. 287 to the main gate of Sheppard Air Force Base (both completed as a single project in 1960). However, cross-country traffic for many years had to contend with several ground-level intersections and traffic lights over Holliday and Broad Streets near the downtown area for about 13 blocks between connecting expressway links until a new elevated freeway running overhead was completed in 2001.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

Efforts to create an additional freeway along the path of Kell Boulevard for U.S. 82–277 began in 1967 with the acquisition of right-of-way that included a former railroad right-of-way and the first project including construction of the present frontage roads completed in 1977, followed by freeway lanes, overpasses, and on/off ramps in 1989 from just east of Brook Avenue west to Kemp Boulevard; similar projects west from Kemp to Barnett Road in 2001 followed by Barnett Road west past FM 369 in 2010 to tie in which a project now underway to transform U.S. 277 into a continuous four-lane expressway between Wichita Falls and Abilene.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/wichita-falls/us-277-expansion.html|title=US 277 Expansion|last=Texas)|first=Texas Department of Transportation (State of|website=www.txdot.gov|access-date=2017-02-01}}</ref>