Historic Walker County

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Left: An aerial view of Interstate 45
construction, November 30, 1957.
COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE
ARTS COMMISSION.
Below: A 1964 map of Huntsville’s
roadways.
COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE
ARTS COMMISSION.
of beds to fifty. A further addition was later
made in 1965, accommodating 114 beds along
with a convalescent unit. 92
As county leaders improved the hospital,
problems with other elements of the local
infrastructure became apparent. For instance,
motorists from Galveston and Houston had to
drive through downtown Huntsville on their way
to Dallas. This meant that a large volume of traffic
and serious congestion occurred at the courthouse
square, when tractor-trailers tried to make right
angle turns to follow the highway route. A survey
conducted in 1952 showed that 60% of the
people who travelled through downtown
Huntsville were in favor of a bypass. By 1956,
Walker County’s leaders encouraged local citizens
to vote for a $300,000 bond election for the
construction of U.S. Hwy 75 and the Huntsville
Bypass. Although some citizens worried about the
negative impact that such a move would have on
the local economy, the editor of the Huntsville Item
urged his readers to support the project. “A
growth in population inevitably follows a highway
program of this size,” he said. “The people of
Huntsville and Walker County stand to insure
C h a p t e r V I I ✦ 4 3