I-14 System in Texas
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 authorized a number of roadways to be upgraded nationally to interstate standards and ultimately designated as part of the Interstate 14 (I-14) system nationally across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. This new interstate system will enhance connectivity in the southern United States and improve mobility between urban and rural population centers, military installations, maritime ports, and economic sectors including energy, freight, timber and agriculture.
The FAST Act created the Central Texas Corridor, which included the United States (US) highway 190 from Interstate 10 near Iraan to State Highway (SH) 63 in Jasper to the Sabine River Bridge at the Texas-Louisiana border, and authorized it to be upgraded to interstate standards and ultimately designated as I-14. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 added highways to the Central Texas Corridor and continues to authorize the upgrade of highways to interstate standards.
Project information
In Texas, the I-14 system is projected to be over 1,000 miles long and extend along sections of the following highways in the central part of the state:
- I-14
- I-20
- I-35
- I-45
- US 69
- US 83
- US 87
- US 96
- US 190
- US 385
- State Loop 338
- State Highway 63
- State Highway 158
- Farm-to-Market Road 305
Additionally, the federal legislation authorized a loop encircling the Bryan/College Station area as an interstate highway to be numbered I-214 and can be viewed in the I-14 System in Texas map. Currently, approximately 25 miles of the system have been designated and signed as I-14 in Texas from I-35 in Belton to US 190E in Copperas Cove.
Proposed improvements
The building of a new interstate highway system will be a decades-long strategic initiative. The I-14 System in Texas will be developed through a series of incremental upgrades to bring highways up to interstate standards. While the FAST Act and the IIJA provide a general route, it will be necessary to further define where the I-14 system will go. This will involve working closely with local communities and stakeholders to determine options.
Once the highway sections have been upgraded to interstate standards, TxDOT will request interstate highway designation from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
Implementation plan and report
In 2023, TxDOT’s Corridor Planning Branch began a statewide planning initiative to develop an implementation plan for upgrading this network of highways in Texas to interstate standards. This plan was developed in coordination with the TxDOT Districts where the roadways that comprise the I-14 system are located. The planning initiative included stakeholder identification and engagement to inform the public about the new interstate highway system, and data collection and analyses to document the existing and future roadway characteristics. This planning initiative was completed in Spring 2024, culminating in the publication of an implementation plan and report that will serve as a guide to the TxDOT Districts and other interested parties for future project-specific planning and programming for construction.
In a separate planning effort, the TxDOT Bryan District is conducting the I-14 Central Texas Corridor Study, a regional corridor study of the future I-14 system in their District, which follows US 190 eastward from Rogers in Bell County to Huntsville in Walker County. This regional study will determine the feasibility of a corridor and route for a roadway facility that meets interstate standards. Access additional information about this regional study.