I-69C begins at a partially-completed stack interchange with I-2/US 83 and North Cage Boulevard (US 281) in the northern part of Pharr. As of December 2020[update], I-69C only has direct connections from its southbound lanes to westbound (exit 1A) and eastbound (exit 1B) I-2/US 83 and flyover ramps coming from either direction of I-2/US 83 to I-69C northbound; traffic approaching the interchange from the south on US 281, or wanting to head south on US 281 from the interchange, can only access either Interstate via its frontage roads, and vice versa. This can be disorienting for traffic wishing to continue south on US 281 from I-69C toward downtown Pharr and Hidalgo or north from the same; the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is currently working to complete the interchange.
Immediately north of I-2, North Cage Boulevard splits into a one-way couplet and sandwiches mainline I-69C in between, with North Cage Boulevard, still carrying US 281 at this point, serving as a frontage road. The parallel roads head north past State Highway 495 (SH 495; East Ferguson Avenue). Beyond it to the north, a southbound offramp (exit 1C) provides access to SH 495 and US 281 beyond I-69C's current southern terminus. Northbound, an onramp from North Cage Boulevard carries US 281 onto the Interstate's mainline. The two routes are coterminous from this point for the entire current length of I-69C.
After another pair of onramps from North Cage Boulevard and a southbound offramp to Sioux Road (exit 1D), the road enters Edinburg. I-69C provides access to Farm to Market Road 3461 (FM 3461; Nolana Loop) via a single northbound offramp (exit 1E) before coming to its first full diamond interchange, with Business US 281-W (Bus. US 281-W), which continues north on a reunited North Cage Boulevard through central Edinburg on US 281's former routing; meanwhile, I-69C/US 281 curves to the northeast for about two miles (3.2 km) before it turns due north again. After reuniting with Bus. US 281-W on the northern edge of town, I-69C leaves Edinburg, skirting the small community of Faysville on its western flank before terminating at its overpass over FM 490 (exit 17). The freeway downgrades to an expressway beyond here and continues on as US 281.
History
Hidalgo County Courthouse in Edinburg near the temporary northern terminus of I-69CLive Oak County Courthouse in George West near the future northern terminus of I-69C
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the designation for the Lower Rio Grande Valley Segment on May 24, 2013,[3] and the Texas Transportation Commission followed suit on May 30, 2013.[4] This action finalized the designations of not only I-69C but also of the sections of I-69E from Brownsville north to north of Raymondville and also I-2 which is a 46.8-mile (75.3 km) freeway connecting with I-69C and I-69E in Pharr and Harlingen.[3] These approvals added over 100 miles (160 km) to the Interstate Highway System in the Rio Grande Valley.[5] The signage was installed in mid-2013.[6]
As of July 2021[update], the cluster consisting of the recently designated portions of I-69C, I-69E, and I-2 in the Rio Grande Valley is not connected to the national Interstate network. This situation is slated to be remedied by scheduled projects to complete I-69E along US 77 between Raymondville and Robstown and the southern end of the previously signed portion of the I-69 corridor connecting with I-37 west of Corpus Christi. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval for the upgrade of the US 77 alignment to Interstate standards, including bypasses of the towns along the 91-mile (146 km) routing, was obtained through a Finding of No Significant Impact statement issued on July 13, 2012;[7] funding for the various upgrade projects became available after 2015.[8] During August 2014, exit numbering began on the south most segment of I-69C in Edinburg.[citation needed]
As of 2023[update], the only segment of US 281 to be constructed to Interstate standards not currently connected to I-69C is the segment through Falfurrias. Construction to upgrade a bypass that had been built around Alice began in 2023 with completion set for mid-2028.[9] Another bypass for Premont has also been under construction since 2019.[10] The southbound lanes of the bypass opened to traffic on October 25, 2023 (the northbound lanes had been opened in 2022), but the project as a whole will not be completed until mid-2024.[11] In August 2023, $100.8 million in funding was allocated to upgrade US 281 to a freeway between Falfurrias and Premont, although construction will not begin until 2029.[12] Other projects between Alice and Faysville are in varying stages of planning and funding with plans north of Alice not announced yet.[9]
^Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Highway Designations Glossary". Texas Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
I-2 / US 83 / US 281 in Pharr
US 281 / FM 490 in Edinburg.svg)
