State Highway 87 or SH 87 runs for 249.4 miles (401.4 km) between Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

 (at a terminus shared with Interstate 45 and Spur 342) to U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 84 in Timpson, Texas

Timpson, Texas

Timpson is a city in Shelby County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,094 at the 2000 census. The community is named after T.B Timpson, a railroad engineer.- History :...

.

Highway 87 has a notable stretch between Sea Rim State Park

Sea Rim State Park

Sea Rim State Park is a state park in southeast Texas.The park is located on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Jefferson County, south of Port Arthur and just west of Sabine Pass. The park was closed for several years due to extensive damage from Hurricanes Rita and Ike . The park has recently...

 and High Island, Texas

High Island, Texas

High Island is an unincorporated area located in the Bolivar Peninsula census-designated place, Galveston County, Texas, United States. The community is located in the extreme eastern part of the county on Bolivar Peninsula, less than one mile from Chambers County and less than two miles from...

 that has been washed out repeatedly over the decades and has been closed continuously since 1990. Portions of this stretch were less than 100 feet (30.5 m) away from high tide in the 1990s. The storm surge from Hurricane Jerry

Hurricane Jerry (1989)

Hurricane Jerry was the tenth named storm and the sixth and final hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season. Jerry was also the fourth U.S. landfalling storm and the third storm to strike Texas during the 1989 season; the two previous storms were Allison in June and Chantal in August. When it...

 which made landfall on October 15, 1989, left the highway in a state of disrepair.

While talk about rebuilding the destroyed segment of State Highway 87 happens from time to time (for example, in 1998), there is no serious effort underway to do so.

History

SH 87 was originally designated in 1926 from Orange

Orange, Texas

Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

 to Milam

Milam, Texas

Milam is a census-designated place in Sabine County, Texas, United States. It is located at the junction of Highway 87 and Highway 21. The population was 1,329 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Milam is located at ....

. The route was the previously proposed SH 8A

State Highway 8 (Texas)

State Highway 8 or SH 8 is a north–south state highway that runs from the Red River, the Texas-Arkansas boundary, north of New Boston to SH 155 at Linden.-History:...

 before being renumbered. By 1928, it extended to Port Arthur

Port Arthur, Texas

-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...

. By 1933, it extended again, this time to High Island. In 1939, it was extended to its current terminus in Timpson, and replaced the section of SH 124

State Highway 124 (Texas)

State Highway 124 or SH 124 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation . The highway begins along the Gulf Coast near the northeast end of the Bolivar Peninsula at and extends to the northeast ending at and . In between, the highway has...

 from High Island to Galveston. In 1970, road machinery used in its construction accidentally dug up several cannonballs and crumbling kegs of black powder about 10 miles west of Sabine Pass. Further excavation eventually produced more kegs of black powder and several hundred cannonballs. The ammunition had been buried there by Confederate soldiers in what were the ditches of Fort Manhassett

Fort Manhassett

Fort Manhassett was a group of earthen fortifications that guarded the western approaches to Sabine City, Texas during the American Civil War, operating in service of the Confederate Army from October 1863 to May 1865.-Background:...

 in 1865. Fort Manhassett was a series of earthworks constructed by the Confederacy in 1863 to defend the western approaches to Sabine Pass.

Future work

Two ferries

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 currently operate on Galveston Bay

Galveston Bay

Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along the upper coast of Texas in the United States. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide...

, taking passengers from Port Bolivar to Galveston Island

Galveston Island

Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States, about 50 miles southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston....

. Because of increasing traffic, especially during summer months, TxDOT

Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas. Its stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state...

 was studying the possibility of building a bridge

Bolivar Bridge

The Bolivar Bridge was a proposed bridge connecting Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula in the United States state of Texas.-History:Service between Galveston and Port Bolivar is currently provided via a ferry operated by the Texas Department of Transportation linking both halves of State...

 to connect Galveston Island or Pelican Island to the Bolivar Peninsula; however, the decision was made not to build the bridge.

Junction list

>

County	Location	Mile	Junction	Notes
Galveston Galveston County, Texas Galveston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 291,309. Its county seat is Galveston. League City is the largest city in Galveston County in terms of population; between...	Galveston
	Bolivar Peninsula
	High Island
Chambers				no intersections
Jefferson Jefferson County, Texas Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Texas, United States. As of 2000, the population was 252,051. Its county seat is Beaumont, and it is named for the former U.S...	Port Arthur
				Begin overlay of SH 73
Orange Orange County, Texas Orange County is one of 254 counties of the State of Texas and its county seat is the city of Orange, Texas. In the year 2000, the population of Orange County was about 85,000. Orange County is the county in the very southeastern corner of Texas, with a boundary with Louisiana and a seacoast on the...	Rainbow Bridge (southbound) and Veterans Memorial Bridge (northbound) Rainbow Bridge (Texas) The Rainbow Bridge is a cantilever bridge crossing the Neches River in Southeast Texas just upstream from Sabine Lake. It allows State Highway 87 and State Highway 73 to connect Port Arthur in Jefferson County on the southwest bank of the river with Bridge City in Orange County on the northeast...  over the Neches River Neches River The Neches River flows for through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir are located on the Neches. Several cities are located along the Neches River Basin, including Evadale, Tyler, Lufkin, Silsbee,...
	Bridge City			End overlay of SH 73
	Orange			Begin overlay of US 90 Bus.
				End overlay of US 90 Bus.
Newton Newton County, Texas Newton County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. In of 2000, its population was 15,072. Its county seat is Newton. Newton county is named for John Newton, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War...	Deweyville
	Newton Newton, Texas Newton is a city in Newton County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,459 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Newton County.-History:...
	Burkeville, Texas Burkeville, Texas Burkeville is an unincorporated town in northern Newton County, Texas, United States. It sits at the intersection of State Highways 63 and 87 10 miles west of the Sabine River. The Burkeville Independent School District serves the resident students....
Sabine	Hemphill
	Milam
Shelby Shelby County, Texas *Arcadia*Brooklyn*Center*Dreka *Huxley*Joaquin*Possum Trot*Shelbyville *Tenaha*Timpson*Weaver-Education:The following school districts serve Shelby County:*Center ISD*Excelsior ISD...
	Center
	Timpson