Texas Park Road 8

Park Road 8 (PR 8) is a Park Road loop in Howard County in West Texas. The highway is approximately 2.405 miles (3.870 km) long, and loops through Big Spring State Park off of Farm to Market Road 700 (FM 700). The road is one of the eight original Park Roads incorporated into the state highway system in 1937.

PR 8 marker

PR 8

PR 8 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length2.405 mi[1] (3.870 km)
ExistedJune 22, 1937[2]–present
Major junctions
South end FM 700 in Big Spring
North end FM 700 in Big Spring
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesHoward
Highway system
← FM 8→ RE 8

Route description
The CCC built retaining wall uses limestone blocks weighing up to two tons.

Park Road 8 begins at a T with FM 700 at the border of Big Spring State Park. The highway is a one-way, paved road. The road winds westward as it increases about 150 foot in elevation. It curves northward providing scenic overlooks of the City of Big Spring. The roadway descends eastward and intersects with itself at the entrance to the park. A .4 miles (0.64 km) length designated Park Road 8 North connects the ascending section with the descending section.

History

The Civilian Conservation Corps began work on Park Road 8 during the construction of Big Spring State Park between 1934 and 1935. Retaining walls on the descending switchbacks were built with locally quarried limestone blocks, some of which weighed up to two tons.[3] On September 22, 1936, the state highway commission initiated an investigation at the request of the state's parks board into the incorporation of certain park roads as part of the state highway system after which the highway commission would assume maintenance of these roads. The highway commission accepted the park road in Big Spring State Park and seven other parks as the original park roads in the state system on June 22, 1937.[2]

Major junctions

The entire road is in Howard County.

LocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Big Spring State Park00.0 FM 700 – Big SpringSouthern terminus
2.4053.870 FM 700 – Big SpringNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Park Road No. 8". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  2. Staff (June 22, 1937). "Minute Order 18341, Minutes of the Two Hundred Thirty-third Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Texas State Highway Commission. pp. 11–12. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  3. Steely, James Wright. Parks for Texas: Enduring Landscapes of the New Deal. Austin: U of Texas, 1999. Print.
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