Texas State Highway 83

State Highway 83 is a state highway in Yoakum, Gaines, and Dawson counties in Texas, United States, that connects New Mexico State Road 132 and Farm to Market Road 769 at the New Mexico state line with Texas State Highway 137 in Welch, via Denver City and Seagraves.

Route description

SH 83 runs primarily through rural agricultural area and is a two-lane road.

Yoakum County

SH 83 begins at an intersection on the New Mexico state line in the southwestern corner of Yoakum County, just over due west of Denver City.
From its western terminus, SH 83 heads due east, roughly north of and paralleling the Yoakum-Gaines county line. After, and connecting with multiple county roads, SH 83 reaches a T intersection with the southern end of Farm to Market Road 796. Approximately farther east, after passing along the north edge of the Denver City Memorial Park cemetery, SH 83 begins running along the border of Denver City on West Broadway Street, before fully entering the city roughly later. As it approached Denver City, SH 83 wided to a five-lane road and then entered an oil field with multiple nodding donkey pumps that surrounds city.
File:Denver City IMG 0383.JPG|thumb|left|Eastbound SH 83 in Denver City, at the southern end of Farm to Market Road 2055, July 2008
Ten blocks after entering Denver City, SH 83 reaches its junction with Farm to Market Road 2055 at Main Avenue in the downtown area. Ten blocks farther east SH 83 reaches its northern junction with Texas State Highway 214 on the eastern limits of the city. SH 83 heads south as a five-lane road concurrently with SH 214, but quickly curves to head south-southeast and loses one of its northbound lanes. While still along the city limit line, SH 83 / SH 214 leaves Yoakum County and enters Gaines County.

Gaines County

Shortly after SH 83 / SH 214 enters Gaines County, the highway entirely leaves Denver City and continues as a three-lane road through the oil field surrounding the city. About south of the city, SH 83 reaches its southern junction with SH 214 at an intersection with FM 2056. Heading due east again as two-lane road, SH 83 leaves the oil field. After approximately and connecting with several more county roads, the highway enters the city of Seagraves.
Within Seagraves SH 83 runs along 12th Street and, after about, it reaches its junction with U.S. Route 62 / U.S. Route 385 near the eastern end of the city. Continuing due east, but after crossing a set of railroad tracks, SH 83 promptly connects with the north end of Farm to Market Road 1429 at a T intersection on the eastern city limit.
Approximately east of Seagraves, SH 83 curves to head south-southeast. About farther on, after connecting with several more county roads, SH 83 enters the census-designated place of Loop and then curves to head due east once again. SH 83 then reaches its junction with Farm to Market Road 303 in the center of the community. After leaving the CDP, SH 83 continues due east for to reach its junction with the north end of Farm to Market Road 1067 at a T intersection. east of FM 1067 SH 83 leaves Gaines County to enter Dawson County.

Dawson County

Just after entering Dawson County, SH 83 curves east-northeast as it passes through another oil field. About after entering Dawson County, SH 83 enters the CDP of Welch along Jupiter Street. Approximately later SH 83 has its junction with Farm to Market Road 829 at the south end of Main Street. Three blocks later SH 83 reaches its eastern terminus at an intersection with SH 137 and County Road 3 on the southeastern edge of the main part of the community.

History

The original SH 83 was designated, on August 21, 1923, along a route from Lamesa east to an intersection with SH 18 in western Shackelford County as a renumbering of SH 18B. On May 21, 1928, SH 83 was extended west to the New Mexico state line to connect with New Mexico State Road 83. The route was transferred to SH 15 on August 8, 1935, though the change was not effective until September 1, 1935. New Mexico State Road 83 was realigned in the 1950s, connecting with SH 328 instead. On March 31, 1955, SH 328 was renumbered to SH 83 "for the convenience of the traveling public" In 1988, the New Mexico connecting highway was renumbered New Mexico State Road 132.