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Roads & Highways · Research fact sheet · Crockett, Texas · Houston County · Sept. 22, 2026

Who owns the square?

TxDOT vs. the City of Crockett — who designs, maintains, signs and controls the state highways that meet at the courthouse square.

The short version

  1. The streets around the courthouse are state highways. TxDOT owns and maintains the pavement on all four sides.
  2. The City is responsible for sidewalks, parking signs and stripes, and its own side streets — and it needs TxDOT's written OK for any sign it puts on a state route.
  3. On Sept. 25, 2025, the state officially moved the through routes of US 287, SH 7, SH 19 and SH 21 onto Loop 304. The square streets became “business routes.”
  4. TxDOT cannot ban trucks from any road. Only the City can — and it did, in 1981: through trucks must use Loop 304 and stay off the square. The ordinance also says the City puts up the signs.
  5. What is missing is not a law. It is signs, enforcement, and getting the maps to catch up.
11state-maintained routes inside the city limits
4 of 4sides of the courthouse square are state highway
9·25·25the day the through routes officially moved to Loop 304 (Minute Order 117052)
1981the year the City banned through trucks from the square (Ord. O-8B-81)
Download the one-page fact sheet (PNG) Jump to sources

On this page

  1. The bottom line
  2. How TxDOT is built
  3. The legal stack
  4. The hub — what's on the square
  5. Who is responsible for what
  6. TxDOT work in Crockett now
  7. What it means for Loop 304
  8. Not yet verified
  9. Sources

01 · The bottom line

TxDOT owns and maintains the roadway on all four sides of the square.

  • Every state route in Crockett — US 287, SH 7, SH 19, SH 21, Loop 304 and six FM roads — is state highway system.
  • The State maintains the pavement, signals, crosswalks, highway signs and drainage structures. The City handles sidewalks, parking, mowing, sweeping and its own cross-streets.
  • That split is written in a Municipal Maintenance Agreement (TxDOT Form 1038, Rev. 08/23), approved by Resolution R-12-23 on Dec. 4, 2023 and signed for the State by Lufkin District Engineer Kelly O. Morris, P.E.

Since Sept. 25, 2025 the through routes are officially on Loop 304.

  • Texas Transportation Commission Minute Order 117052 moved the mainlines of US 287, SH 7, SH 19 and SH 21 onto Loop 304.
  • The downtown legs became BU 287, BS 7, BS 19 and BS 21 — business routes: still state highways, still TxDOT-maintained.
  • The order states the city of Crockett, Houston County, and the Lufkin District have requested the following actions. It passed 4–0 with no discussion.
  • No local press coverage was found. TxDOT's public designation files and Wikipedia still show the old routing through the square.

Trucks are the City's call — and the City already made it in 1981.

  • TxDOT's own manual: The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has no legal authority to prohibit the use of any highway by any class of vehicle.
  • Crockett Code Sec. 14-10 (Ord. O-8B-81, Aug. 17, 1981): any truck of 1½ tons or more being operated as through traffic may not use any route other than state highway loop 304. No through truck traffic will be permitted in or on … the courthouse square unless picking up or delivering.
  • Sec. 14-10(f): Appropriate signs and markings are to be erected by the city.
  • The gap is not law. It is signage and enforcement of a 45-year-old ordinance.

02 · How TxDOT is built

The chain of command from Austin to the maintenance yard on Loop 304.

Texas Transportation Commission5 members · appointed by the governor · 6-year terms · designates and removes state highways by minute order · approves the 10-year UTP
Executive director + HQ divisionsTP&P prepares designation orders · TRF (Traffic Safety) reviews truck routes and signing · DES / MNT set design and maintenance standards
25 districtsDistrict engineer · plans, designs, builds, operates and maintains the system · approves signals · runs speed studies
Area officesArea engineer · construction oversight · the local project contact
County maintenance sectionsDay-to-day pavement, signs, mowing, potholes · state forces or contract

Who handles Crockett

  • The Lufkin District covers 9 counties: Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby and Trinity.
  • District Engineer Kelly O. Morris, P.E. · 936-633-4321. Public information officer Tim Monzingo · 936-208-5651.
  • There is no Crockett Area Office. Houston County projects run out of the Lufkin Area Office — Jesse Sisco, P.E. · 936-634-4433.
  • Crockett Maintenance Section: 1123 E. Loop 304 · Danny Luna · 936-544-2264.

How the money moves

  • The Unified Transportation Program (UTP) is a 10-year plan, updated yearly, with 12 funding categories.
  • Category 1 = preventive maintenance and rehabilitation. Category 11 = district discretionary. Category 9 = Transportation Alternatives (sidewalks, trails).
  • A project on the state system must be in the UTP before TxDOT authorizes it — including anything on the square.
  • A city that wants more than TxDOT's standard design (decorative lighting, streetscape) pays 100% of that discrete element through an Advance Funding Agreement and then maintains it.

03 · The legal stack

Texas Transportation Code — why a city street can be a state highway. Quotes are verbatim; each section is linked in the sources.

  • §311.001 — A home-rule city has exclusive control over … the public highways, streets, and alleys of the municipality. Crockett is a home-rule city.
  • §203.003 — The Commission may build, maintain and operate a designated state highway in any area of this state, whether in or outside a municipality, without the city's consent — and doing so removes the … municipality's exclusive jurisdiction over the specific public way affected.
  • §221.002 — The Commission and a city may agree to … provide for the location, relocation, improvement, control, supervision, and regulation of a designated state highway in the municipality. That agreement is the Municipal Maintenance Agreement.
  • §544.002(c) — A local authority may not place or maintain a traffic-control device on a highway under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Transportation without that department's permission. Every sign the City wants on the square or the loop needs TxDOT's written approval.
  • §221.003 / §224.031 — TxDOT has exclusive and direct control of all improvement of the state highway system and prepares all plans. Anything rebuilt on the square is designed by TxDOT (Lufkin District or its consultant).
  • §203.021 — At least one public hearing in the locality for a project that bypasses or goes through a municipality; the design and schematic must be filed with the city at least 7 days before.
  • §623.072 — A municipality with a state highway shall designate to the department (TxDMV) the route in the municipality to be used by oversize / superheavy permitted loads, and TxDMV shall show the designated route on each map routing the equipment.
  • §621.303(b) / §621.304 — A city may not regulate permitted loads because of weight on a state highway, and may not require its own permit, bond, fee or license for them. Permits come from TxDMV, routed on TxDOT data.

04 · The hub — what's actually on the square

Routing per Minute Order 117052 and TxDOT's route geometry.

Schematic of Loop 304 and the Crockett courthouse square A ring representing Loop 304 with the courthouse square in the center. Six spokes show the business routes entering and leaving the square. The thickness of the ring shows how many state mainlines now run on each stretch of the loop. SH 7 · SH 21 US 287 · SH 19 · SH 7 · SH 21 US 287 · SH 19 · SH 7 US 287 · SH 19 SH 19 LOOP 304 ONLY LOOP 304 = OFFICIAL MAINLINE SINCE 9/25/2025 N. 4TH ST US 287 + SH 19 IN → BU 287 · BS 19 W. GOLIAD AVE SH 7 + SH 21 IN → BS 7 · BS 21 E. HOUSTON AVE BS 21 OUT E. GOLIAD AVE BS 7 OUT S. 5TH → E. BOWIE BU 287 OUT S. 4TH ST BS 19 OUT HOUSTON CO. COURTHOUSE E. HOUSTON AVE E. GOLIAD AVE S. 4TH ST S. 5TH ST RING THICKNESS = NUMBER OF STATE MAINLINES NOW CARRIED ON THAT STRETCH OF LOOP 304 SPOKES = THE FOUR BUSINESS ROUTES (BU 287 · BS 7 · BS 19 · BS 21) — STILL STATE HIGHWAY, STILL TXDOT-MAINTAINED SCHEMATIC — NOT TO SCALE. JUNCTION BEARINGS TAKEN FROM TXDOT ROUTE GEOMETRY.

On a phone, slide the drawing sideways to see all of it, or open the one-page fact sheet.

  • The courthouse block is bounded by E. Houston Ave (north), S. 5th St (east), E. Goliad Ave (south) and S. 4th St (west) — four one-way blocks, all state highway, now business routes.
  • US 287 and SH 19 enter from the north on N. 4th St. Leaving the square, BU 287 goes south on S. 5th St then southeast on E. Bowie Ave; BS 19 goes south on S. 4th St.
  • SH 7 and SH 21 enter from the west on W. Goliad Ave. BS 7 leaves east on E. Goliad Ave; BS 21 leaves northeast on E. Houston Ave.
  • FM feeders: FM 229 (to W. Goliad), FM 2022 (N. 6th St off E. Houston), FM 2110 (Austin St off SH 19), plus FM 2076, FM 2712 and FM 3313 — 11 state-maintained routes inside the city limits per the MMA's Exhibit A.
  • Loop 304: designated March 28, 1956 · 8.58 miles · a full loop · mostly two lanes. It now carries the mainlines — north and east: US 287 + SH 19 (with SH 7 / SH 21 overlapping on the north side); northwest: SH 7 + SH 21; southeast: SH 19. Only the southwest quadrant is loop-only.
  • Old mainline mileages through town: BU 287 ≈ 3.0 mi · BS 7 ≈ 2.6 mi · BS 19 ≈ 2.9 mi · BS 21 ≈ 3.0 mi. New mainlines on the loop: US 287 ≈ 3.5 mi · SH 7 ≈ 4.9 mi · SH 19 ≈ 5.0 mi · SH 21 ≈ 3.9 mi.
  • TxDOT's live roadway network already carries the new names inside the city — BU 287, BS 7, BS 19, BS 21 — with the mainlines on the loop (data extract Sept. 1, 2026). The change is real in TxDOT's system even if the shields haven't changed.
  • Precedent: on Oct. 25, 2018, SH 7 and SH 21 were rerouted around Nacogdoches via Loop 224 and US 59 at that city's request — the same move Crockett got in 2025.

05 · Who is responsible for what on the square

From the signed Municipal Maintenance Agreement, TxDOT Form 1038.

State — TxDOT

  • Traveled surface, the foundation beneath it, and the shoulders.
  • Overlay and reconstruction — design and funding (Lufkin District, UTP).
  • Traffic signals — installs, operates and maintains them (city under 50,000 population).
  • Highway regulatory, warning and guide signs; crosswalks; school safety devices and school crosswalks.
  • Structural maintenance and repair of drainage facilities inside the right-of-way.
  • Assists the City with mowing, litter, sweeping and snow/ice when asked and when resources allow.

City of Crockett

  • Sidewalks — regardless of whether the City or the State built them.
  • Parking restriction signs, parking stripes and special guide signs.
  • Angle parking — prohibited except with the State's written approval after a traffic and engineering study.
  • Signing and marking of city streets where they intersect state highways.
  • Mowing, litter pickup, street sweeping, snow and ice control.
  • Speed limits on state routes — by ordinance, only after a traffic and engineering study approved by the State.
  • May not install any traffic control device that affects a state highway without the State's written approval.
  • Utilities under the street — installed and repaired to TxDOT specifications.
  • Event closures of the square (Blues Jam, Christmas, Fiddlers' Festival) — require a TxDOT closure agreement.
  • Agreed to enforce the State laws governing the movement of loads which exceed the legal limits.
  • Everything not specifically listed stays with the City.

06 · TxDOT work in Crockett now

  • Loop 304 overlay (CSJ 1854-01-051): $13.2 million · the whole loop except the SW quadrant · began Feb. 2025 · about 62% complete · estimated finish Sept. 27, 2026.
  • “Crockett Town Square” overlays: five projects from the square out to the loop on BU 287 (both legs), BS 7, BS 19 and BS 21 · about $4.9 million combined · letting April 2027 · pavement only — no sidewalk, ADA or signal work.
  • New crosswalks painted on the square in Oct. 2025 as part of a TxDOT pedestrian-safety plan (council minutes).
  • NW Loop 304 overpass: TxDOT calls it end-of-life · demolish and rebuild in place · 6–12 months · traffic diverted through town or around the south side of Loop 304 · council letter of support March 16, 2026 · no letting date yet.
  • That detour puts the mainline back through the square unless the truck detour is written as the south loop.
  • Also programmed: seal coat on the loop's SW quadrant, SH 19 S to SH 7 W / SH 21 W (CSJ 1854-01-054) · about $216,000 · letting Nov. 2027.
  • Feeder work: SH 19 south of the loop resurfaced ($3.02 million, let Oct. 2024) · FM 2110 restoration from SH 19 ($5.5 million, June 2026, plus $5.1 million, June 2027) · FM 2076 restoration and widening to 26 ft (let Aug. 2025).
  • Long range: TxDOT's 2025 US 287 interstate feasibility study — $24.5 billion, 671 miles, Amarillo to Port Arthur, target around 2050 — names Crockett among the towns affected. No Crockett-specific bypass details published.

07 · What it means for the Loop 304 fight

  1. Reframe the ask. No new rule is needed. Sec. 14-10 already bans through trucks from the square, names Loop 304 and obligates the City to post the signs. The ask is to implement the 1981 ordinance with TxDOT-approved signage.
  2. Use the redesignation. MO 117052 was the City's own request, granted. Ask TxDOT whether the field signs have caught up — BUSINESS shields on the square legs, mainline shields and THRU TRAFFIC / TRUCK ROUTE guide signs at all six loop junctions. GPS and trucking-map vendors won't reroute until the shields change.
  3. File the oversize / overweight route. One council resolution naming Loop 304 under §623.072 puts the loop on every TxDMV permit map. First find out whether Crockett has ever filed it.
  4. Sign process (TxDOT Sign Guidelines, Truck Routes): written proposal to the Lufkin District → District forwards to TRF → comments back → signs to TMUTCD standard (2025 edition, effective Jan. 18, 2026) · City submits a scaled sign detail · City bears all sign costs · City may install in town under the MMA · TxDOT installs outside the city limits as necessary to achieve a continuous connecting route.
  5. Funding: general fund (the gateway-sign precedent) · TxDOT Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (City applied June 2025, Res. R-06B-25 — status unknown) · 2026 TDA CDBG Downtown Revitalization application · TEX-21 coalition. Citations are not the revenue stream; the ordinance's value is the legal basis for the signs.
  6. Get the overpass detour plan in writing before letting: trucks to the south loop, not through the square.

08 · Not yet verified — confirm before repeating as fact

  • Whether the new BU / BS and mainline shields are physically posted in the field.
  • Whether the City has ever filed a §623.072 route designation with TxDMV.
  • Status of the 2025 Transportation Alternatives application and the 2021 E. Goliad sidewalk project.
  • The council / commissioners court record requesting MO 117052 — not found in 2023–25 agendas; may have been staff-level.

09 · Sources

Research compiled Sept. 22, 2026. All facts verified against primary sources except where marked in yellow.