{{short description|State highway in Texas}} {{Use American English|date=May 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2013}} {{Infobox road |state=TX |type=Loop |route=293 |maint=TxDOT |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=290|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Texas State Highway Loop 293}}}} |map_custom=yes |map_notes=Loop 293 highlighted in red |length_mi=3.196 |length_round=3 |length_ref=<ref name="SL 293">{{TxDOT|SL|293|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> |established=1981<ref name="SL 293"/> |direction_a=West |terminus_a={{jct|state=TX|I|10}} north service road |junction={{jct|state=TX|FM|11}} in Bakersfield |direction_b=East |terminus_b={{jct|state=TX|I|10}} north service road |counties=Pecos |previous_type=SH |previous_route=293 |next_type=FM |next_route=293 }} '''State Highway Loop 293''' or '''Loop 293''' is a highway in the U.S. state of Texas maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The {{convert|3.2|mi|km|1|adj=on}} route is a remnant of the former U.S. Route 290 through the ghost town of Bakersfield in eastern Pecos County east of Fort Stockton before the construction of Interstate 10. Both ends of the route terminate at service roads of I-10, and the loop has one major intersection with Farm to Market Road 11 in Bakersfield. The route has been included in the state highway system under various designations since the original formation of the state system.
==Route description== Loop 293 begins along the north service road of I-10 just south of Squawteat Peak west of Bakersfield. After {{convert|1.5|mi|km|1}} the route intersects FM 11 in the center of Bakersfield. The route proceeds for another {{convert|1.7|mi|km|1}} before returning to the I-10 north service road. The road passes through the Taylor-Link Oil and Gas Field, and follows a generally straight path through gentle terrain with little physical relief.<ref name="Mapbook 1361">{{Texas Mapbook|page=1361|year=2018|link=no|accessdate=December 14, 2022}}</ref><ref name="topo map">{{cite map|publisher=United States Geological Survey|title=Bakersfield Quadrangle, Texas-Pecos Co.|url=https://ims.er.usgs.gov/gda_services/download?item_id=5481971&quad=Bakersfield&state=TX&grid=7.5X7.5&series=Map%20GeoPDF|format=PDF|year=1969|scale=1:24 000|series=7.5 Minute Series (Topographic)|accessdate=April 4, 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408115923/http://ims.er.usgs.gov/gda_services/download?item_id=5481971&quad=Bakersfield&state=TX&grid=7.5X7.5&series=Map%20GeoPDF|archivedate=April 8, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
There is no direct connection between Loop 293 and the main roadways of I-10. The north service road at the west end of Loop 293 ends abruptly a short distance away with no entrance or exit ramps.<ref name="west end">{{Google maps|title=Satellite view of I-10 north service road at western terminus of Loop 293|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fort+Stockton,+TX&hl=en&ll=30.89103,-102.328677&spn=0.015357,0.027595&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.081881,56.513672&oq=Fort+St&t=h&hnear=Fort+Stockton,+Pecos,+Texas&z=15|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> Access to the loop from I-10 is by way of FM 11 at Exit 294, and westbound motorists on I-10 can also reach the east end by following the north service road from Exit 298 at Ranch to Market Road 2886.<ref name="east end">{{Google maps|title=Satellite view of I-10 north service road from east end of Loop 293 to RM 2886 exit|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fort+Stockton,+TX&hl=en&ll=30.892061,-102.250872&spn=0.030714,0.055189&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.081881,56.513672&oq=Fort+St&t=h&hnear=Fort+Stockton,+Pecos,+Texas&z=14|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref>
==History== Loop 293 was originally designated as a {{convert|7.7|mi|km|1|adj=on}} Travis County route along the south side of the city of Austin on August 24, 1955.<ref name="SL 293"/> That route began at the current intersection of US 290 and Loop 343,<ref name="SL 343">{{TxDOT|SL|343|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> then proceeded along the present SH 71<ref name="SL 293"/> ending at the current intersection of US 183 with SH 71.<ref name="SL 293"/> The route of the original loop now carries US 290 west of I-35. The original route designation was replaced by US 290 and SH 71 on May 30, 1961, with the old route becoming Loop 343.<ref name="SL 293"/>
The present Loop 293, despite its short distance and the small size of the community it serves, overlays a roadway that has been part of several significant highway routes since the beginning of the state's highway system. Soon after the Texas State Highway Department, a predecessor to TxDOT, was established in 1917,<ref name="TxDOT history">{{cite web|url=http://www.dot.state.tx.us/about_us/1930_1917.htm|title=TxDOT History: 1917–1930|publisher=Texas Department of Transportation|accessdate=April 4, 2012|archive-date=February 16, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216224822/https://www.dot.state.tx.us/about_us/1930_1917.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> the agency proposed State Highway 10 that included the present loop.<ref name="Map 1917">{{TxDOT map|year=1917|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> That proposal came to fruition locally by 1919,<ref name="Map 1919">{{TxDOT map|year=1919|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> and the road became part of the seven percent of the state's highway network receiving 50% federal funding under the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921.<ref name="FHWA planning">{{cite web|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm|title=From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System|first=Richard F.|last=Weingroff|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration|location=Washington, DC|date=January 9, 2009|access-date=April 4, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526214620/http://wwwcf.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm |archive-date=2009-05-26}}</ref><ref name="Map 1922">{{TxDOT map|year=1922|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref>
SH 10 was locally reassigned as part of SH 27 by 1926.<ref name="Map 1926">{{TxDOT map|year=1926|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> That same year the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) adopted the network of United States Numbered Highways<ref name="FHWA planning"/> which was published in 1927.<ref name="USDA">{{cite web|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/ushwypr.cfm|title=Complete U.S. Highway System Now Designated and Approved|date=January 22, 1927|publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Information, Press Service|access-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref> At that time the road became part of US 290<ref name="AASHO 1927">{{citation|publisher=American Association of State Highway Officials|title=United States Numbered Highways|edition=1927|page=44}}</ref><ref name="US 290">{{TxDOT|US|290|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> while maintaining its SH 27 designation.<ref name="Map 1936">{{TxDOT map|year=1936|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> The redundant state designation was removed by the 1939 general redescription of the state highway system.<ref name="SH 27">{{TxDOT|SH|27|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref>
The I-10 bypass around Bakersfield was constructed in 1976.<ref name="FM 11 bridge">{{cite web|title=FM 11 bridge over I-10 in Pecos County (FIPS code 371), Texas|url=http://www.nationalbridges.com/|publisher=National Bridge Inventory|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> US 290 was rerouted along the I-10 bypass, and the original roadway was designated Loop 293 on March 19, 1981.<ref name="SL 293"/> After the completion of I-10 in western Texas, US 290 was decommissioned west of its intersection with I-10 southeast of Junction in 1992.<ref name="US 290"/>
==Major intersections== {{jcttop |state=TX |county=Pecos |location_ref=<ref name="Mapbook 1361"/> |length_ref=<ref name="Google Maps">{{Google maps|title=Route of Loop 293|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=TX-293+Spur+E&daddr=TX-293+Spur+E&hl=en&ll=30.891103,-102.296705&spn=0.030714,0.055189&sll=30.891789,-102.270261&sspn=0.00096,0.001725&geocode=FdRa1wEdFKvm-Q%3BFRBf1wEdYnrn-Q&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=19&t=m&z=14|link=no|accessdate=April 4, 2012}}</ref> }} {{TXint |location=none |mile=0 |road={{jct|state=TX|I|10|dir1=west|name1=Frontage Road}} |notes=Western terminus }} {{TXint |location=Bakersfield |mile=1.5 |road={{jct|state=TX|FM|11|city1=Imperial}} |notes= }} {{TXint |location=none |mile=3.2 |road={{jct|state=TX|I|10|dir1=west|name1=Frontage Road}} |notes=Eastern terminus }} {{jctbtm}}
==See also== *{{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}} *{{Portal-inline|Texas}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} *{{Osmrelation-inline|443851|State Highway Loop 293}} *[https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnb03 Bakersfield, Texas] from the ''Handbook of Texas Online'' *[http://www.texasescapes.com/WestTexasTowns/Bakersfield-Texas.htm Bakersfield, Texas] from [http://www.texasescapes.com/default.htm TexasEscapes.com]
293 Category:Transportation in Pecos County, Texas