Texas Recreational Road 3

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FM 273
in White Shed
East endOld Lake Bonham Road
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesFannin
Highway system
← PR 3→ SH 4

Recreational Road 3 (RE 3) is a

right-of-way
issues largely over the route of an existing dirt track.

Route description

RE 3 looking westward near its eastern terminus

RE 3 begins at a

FM 273 (White Shed Road) in the unincorporated community of White Shed approximately one mile (1.6 km) north of the city of Bonham. Along its entire length, the highway runs as a two-lane, undivided roadway. For its first 0.8 miles (1.3 km), the route travels in a northeastern direction. The roadway makes two wide bends through largely agricultural land along this stretch. After intersecting Circle Drive, approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) into its course, the highway travels into more residential and densely forested areas along the southern shore of Lake Bonham. Near its midpoint, the road intersects County Road 2607 (CR 2607), a residential street which travels southward. Continuing eastward, the highway passes two additional residential streets to its north and a large self storage facility to its south. After a T-intersection with CR 2608 to the south, the roadway passes Bonham City Lake Recreation Area (Lake Bonham Park) to its north.[2][3] The park provides publicly accessible recreational facilities on Lake Bonham, including a boat ramp, restrooms, and camping sites.[4] At the eastern edge of the park, the road reaches its eastern terminus, an intersection with CR 2610 (Old Bonham Lake Road),[2][3] after traveling a total distance of 2.037 miles (3.278 km).[5]

According to TxDOT, traffic along the highway is higher at its western end, which, in 2021, averaged 1,179 vehicles per day, while its eastern terminus averaged only 248 vehicles a day.[5]

History

A 1959 map of the county road which preceded RE 3. The route travels west to east across the center of the map

The city of Bonham started planning Lake Bonham in 1960 as a supply source for its municipal water system.[6] Construction of the Timber Creek Dam, which impounds the reservoir, began in 1966.[7] In September 1969, as the reservoir was nearing completion, the Bonham Water Authority elected to develop a park which would become the Bonham City Lake Recreation Area. As part of the resolution, the organization sent a request to the Texas Highway Department for a paved road to the site.[8]

At its April 1970 meeting, the Highway Commission, in response to increasing requests for the construction of park access roads, created the Recreational Road program and set aside $25 million (equivalent to $151 million in 2023[9]) in funds for new construction under the system. Routes RE 255 and RE 2, were added to the system at the meeting.[10] At its following session in May, the Highway Commission approved the Bonham Water Authority's request and designated the Lake Bonham park road as the third route in the Recreational Road system. The Highway Department estimated that construction of the roadway would cost approximately $111,000 (equivalent to $672,000 in 2023[9]).[11]

The Commission's initial proposal called for a 2.2-mile-long (3.5 km) highway to be built along the course of an existing county road.[12] This route had existed since at least 1940, when it was an unimproved dirt farm road;[13] by 1959, it had been upgraded to a graded, light-duty dirt road.[14] The proposed improvements included upgrading the surface to all-weather asphalt pavement and smoothing out three sharp curves along the existing route.[12] A public hearing on the proposal was held on December 30, 1970.[15] Ahead of this hearing, on December 14, the Bonham city council voted to endorse the Highway Commission's proposed route, though the vote was largely symbolic as the city held no control over routing or right-of-way of the highway.[16] At the hearing, the state's proposal was supported by local officials, including the county Commissioners' Court, Bonham Water Authority, and Bonham Chamber of Commerce. Local residents, by contrast, raised objections over the routing of the highway, in particular the curve adjustments. One landowner along the proposed route was recorded saying he "was for the road, but not where you are putting it".[17]

Acquiring

right-of-way for the roadway proceeded slowly. Much of the land required for RE 3 was already owned by either Fannin County or the Bonham Water Authority, but about six acres (2.4 ha) along the proposed route belonged to private landowners.[18] While a contemporary news article speculated that construction on the route might begin before the end of 1971,[19] by November of that year, only two-thirds of the required land deeds had been acquired by the county.[20] The final right-of-way was not received until January 1972.[21]

An initial invitation for bids to construct the roadway in February 1972 was unsuccessful, after which a second round of bidding was opened at the June meeting of the State Highway Commission.[21][22] The R.W. McKinney Company of Nacogdoches, Texas, was awarded the construction contract with a bid of $109,428.45 (equivalent to $604,601 in 2023[9]).[22][23] Construction on the highway began in late July. Highway Department officials projected that the route would be completed by October 15.[24] Weather delays, however, prevented the paving of the last portions of the route in time for an official opening ceremony for the lake and park on October 27.[25]

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Fannin County.

Locationmi[5]kmDestinationsNotes
FM 273
Western terminus
​1.2792.058CR 2607
​1.7492.815CR 2608
​2.0373.278Old Lake Bonham Road (CR 2610)Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Recreational Road No. 3". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2018). Texas County Mapbook (PDF) (Map) (2018 ed.). 1:72,224. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 416. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Google (August 28, 2022). "Overview Map of Recreational Road 3" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "Bonham City Lake-Public Access Facilities". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 2022. Bonham City Lake Recreation Area. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2022). Statewide Planning Map (Map). Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  6. Newspapers.com
    .
  7. ^ "Timber Creek Work Begins". The Bonham Daily Favorite. September 23, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Monthly Session Set by Water Authority". The Bonham Daily Favorite. September 24, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^
    Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  10. ^ State Highway Commission (April 1, 1970). Minutes of the Seven Hundred and First Meeting of the State Highway Commission (PDF) (Report). Texas Department of Transportation. pp. 206–208. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  11. ^ State Highway Commission (May 7, 1970). Minutes of the Seven Hundred and Second Meeting of the State Highway Commission (PDF) (Report). Texas Department of Transportation. pp. 48–49. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Big Development Step: Park Access Road for Lake Bonham Approved". The Bonham Daily Favorite. May 8, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. OCLC 45871736
    .
  14. ^ United States Geological Survey (March 4, 1959) [1958]. Bonham Quadrangle, Texas—Oklahoma (Topographic map). 1:62,500. 15 Minute Series. Reston, Virginia: United States Geologic Survey. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  15. ^ "On Park Road...Hearing Is Set by State Dec. 30". The Bonham Daily Favorite. November 20, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "2-Day Holiday...City Approves Road into Park". The Bonham Daily Favorite. December 15, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Park Road 3...Hearing Held on Proposed Project". The Bonham Daily Favorite. December 30, 1970. pp. 1–2. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Park Road 3...County Receives Deeds for R.O.W." The Bonham Daily Favorite. July 23, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Precious Water: Bonham Has Plenty, Plenty of It!". The Bonham Daily Favorite. July 16, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Trucks Bought for Precinct 2 by Court". The Bonham Daily Favorite. November 9, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b "Bonham Lake Road...Bids Asked for February Meet". The Bonham Daily Favorite. January 24, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b "Park Road...R. W. McKinney Is Awarded Contract". The Bonham Daily Favorite. June 29, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ State Highway Commission (June 27, 1972). Minutes of the Seven Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the State Highway Commission (PDF) (Report). Texas Department of Transportation. p. 116. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  24. ^ "Lake Bonham Road Work Starts Soon". The Bonham Daily Favorite. July 24, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Bonham Will Thank Ray Roberts: Water Board Sets Friday Ceremony". The Bonham Daily Favorite. October 25, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

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