Interstate 2

Interstate 2 (I-2) is a partially completed Interstate Highway running through the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. It begins at an interchange with Showers Road (SH 364) in Palmview and heads eastward before terminating at I-69E/US 77/US 83 in Harlingen. A US 83 bypass, separate from I-2, was constructed to interstate standards around Peñitas, La Joya, and Sullivan City and was completed in phases from 2023 to 2024.

For its entire length, I-2 runs concurrently with US 83. I-2 also parallels Mexican Federal Highway 2 (Fed. 2), another major east–west route that traces the Mexico–US border along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. It was signed as an Interstate in 2013.

TxDOT studies have explored the possibility of extending I-2 along the US 83 corridor to a western terminus of Laredo. The potential extension is a part of broader planning for an expansion of the Interstate System into southern Texas that includes the three branches of I-69 throughout the Rio Grande Valley, as I-2 intersects with I-69E in Harlingen and I-69C in Pharr. If extended to Laredo, it would terminate at the future I-69W corridor as well. This complex of Interstate Highways does not currently connect to the rest of the system, with buildout of the Rio Grande Valley freeways providing connections to I-35 and I-37.

Route description I-2 begins at an interchange with Showers Road/SH 364 in Palmview. The Interstate heads eastward as a six-lane freeway through the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The route curves southeastward around Mission and McAllen to the south, running near McAllen Miller International Airport, through the urbanized McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Area in the Rio Grande Valley. The route curves northeastward around Pharr, where it intersects with I-69C/US 281 north of the city center. This is the southern terminus of I-69C, and provides a key connection to US 281, providing a key connection to northern cities such as San Antonio. Continuing eastward, the route passes by San Juan, Alamo, Donna, Weslaco, Mercedes, and La Feria roughly paralleling Bus. US 83. The route ends at an interchange with I-69E/US 77/US 83 in Harlingen.

History On April 1, 2013, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) applied to use the I-2 designation on US 83 from Palmview to Harlingen. Approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials at their May meeting, this freeway was already constructed as an Interstate-grade limited-access facility. It connects with I-69E at Harlingen; and likewise with I-69C in the city of Pharr.

The Federal Highway Administration approved the designation on May 24, 2013, and TxDOT followed suit on May 30, 2013. This action finalized the designation of I-2. The signage was installed in mid-2013.

Due to increasing congestion, the US 83 La Joya Relief Route was built, a bypass built to interstate standards, bypassing Penitas, La Joya, and Sullivan City in three phases. Two phases were set for completion in May 2023, although this did not occur until July 2023. Traffic opening was delayed until August. Two phases of the segment from west of Palmview to east of Sullivan City were estimated to cost $183-197 million according to TxDOT.

A portion of the US 83 La Joya relief route opened in August 2023. It opened the eastbound and westbound US 83 main lanes and frontage roads from the US 83 west connector in Peñitas —located east of Showers Road — to Jara Chinas Road as well as the westbound US 83 frontage road between FM 2221 and the US 83 East connector in Sullivan City. The final phase, which built the main lanes west of FM 2221, was completed in early 2024. The total cost for construction was estimated at $197 million. Interstate 69 (Rio Grande Valley Interstate Network) Due to the nature of the Interstate 69 Corridor and branches, they have always been linked to the I-2 project, as a part of the interstate network in the Rio Grande Valley. When the Federal Highway Administration approved the I-2 designation on May 24, 2013, and TxDOT followed suit on May 30, 2013, the designations of the sections of I-69E from Brownsville to Raymondville, I-69C from Pharr north to the end of the US 281 freeway facility near Edinburg, and I-369 along a short segment of US 59 freeway west of Texarkana, which will be part of the proposed connector between the main I-69 trunk in Tenaha and Texarkana were all also finalized. These approvals added over to the Interstate Highway System in the Rio Grande Valley.

The cluster consisting of the recently designated portions of I-2, I-69C, and I-69E 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 Kingsville and to connect to I-37 west of Corpus Christi. Environmental Protection Agency approval for the expansion of the US 77 alignment to Interstate standards, including bypasses of the towns along the routing, was obtained through a Finding of No Significant Impact statement issued in July 2012. Gradual work continues on the segments, consisting of upgrades to existing 4-lane highway, widening, and bypass relief routes, to ultimately convert the route to I-69E.

Future In August of 2023, TxDOT completed the US 83 Corridor Study, which evaluated improvements to the US 83 corridor from the I-2/US-83 junction in Palmview to the I-69W/US 59/Loop 20 junction in Laredo. The corridor follows US 83 before shifting to Loop 20 in Laredo and terminating at US 59 (Future I-69W corridor). The study, which included collecting and analyzing data and requesting public feedback, began in April 2022 and was completed in August 2023. Part of the study looked into another relief route in Starr County.

Exit list The exit numbers are set up to reflect the likely future western terminus of I-2, which would be in Laredo.

Interstate 2

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