title: Texas Intercity Travel: Drive Times Between Major Cities
url: https://boardspy.site/blog/texas-intercity-travel/
type: Article
dateModified: 2026-08-16
publisher: BoardSpy
quick_answer: Quick answer: Texas distances are long enough that the departure decision is made once. Dallas to El Paso is further than London to Prague. Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston hold more than three quarters of the state’s worst traffic between them.
primary_keyword: texas intercity travel
keywords[7]{term}:
  texas intercity travel
  travel between texas cities
  distances between texas cities
  texas travel routes
  texas city travel routes
  driving between texas cities
  texas city distances
faqs[5]{q,a}:
  How long does it take to drive between major Texas cities?,Dallas–Fort Worth is about 32 miles (30 min clear, 45–65 at peak). Austin–San Antonio ~80 miles. Austin–Houston ~165. Dallas–El Paso ~635 miles and about 9.5 hours driving. Pattern estimates, not live times.
  Where is Texas traffic actually worst?,Dallas–Fort Worth holds 41 of TxDOT/TTI’s 100 most congested segments; Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land holds 36. I-610 West Loop is the state’s single most congested segment.
  Why is I-35 between Austin and San Antonio so slow?,TxDOT ranks that stretch as the tenth-most congested highway in the nation and the second-most congested in Texas. The severe segments sit in the middle — Buda, San Marcos, New Braunfels — not at the ends. SH 130 is the tolled eastern bypass.
  Can you sleep overnight at Texas rest areas?,Texas is among the most permissive states: roughly 24 hours. Camping is still prohibited. Sleeping inside your vehicle is a different legal category and is what the permission covers.
  What should you do in a West Texas dust storm?,Pull off as far as possible, park, turn lights all the way off, and keep your foot off the brake. Lit brake lights draw following drivers into you. NWS: Pull Aside, Stay Alive. El Paso is on Mountain Time.
citations[5]{name,url}:
  Texas Top 100 Congested Road Segments,https://www.txdot.gov/projects/planning/top-100-congested-road-segments.html
  2025 Texas Top 100 Congested Road Segments (PDF),https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/TTI-2025-1.pdf
  Dust Storms and Haboobs,https://www.weather.gov/safety/wind-dust-storm
  NWS Midland/Odessa,https://www.weather.gov/maf/
  BoardSpy data sources,https://boardspy.site/facts/data-sources/
internal_links[11]{label,url}:
  Dallas to Fort Worth — traffic and route guide,https://boardspy.site/blog/dallas-to-fort-worth-traffic-route-guide/
  Houston to Galveston — shuttle, drive or bus,https://boardspy.site/blog/houston-to-galveston-shuttle-drive-or-bus/
  Austin to San Antonio — I-35 traffic guide,https://boardspy.site/blog/austin-to-san-antonio-i35-traffic-guide/
  San Antonio to Austin — reverse commute timing,https://boardspy.site/blog/san-antonio-to-austin-reverse-commute/
  Austin to Houston — distance and drive time,https://boardspy.site/blog/how-far-austin-to-houston/
  Austin to Dallas–Fort Worth — I-35 long haul,https://boardspy.site/blog/austin-to-dallas-fort-worth-i35/
  Waco to Dallas — drive time and departure windows,https://boardspy.site/blog/waco-to-dallas-drive-time/
  Houston to Fort Worth — drive time and routes,https://boardspy.site/blog/houston-to-fort-worth-drive-time-traffic/
  San Antonio to Corpus Christi,https://boardspy.site/blog/san-antonio-to-corpus-christi/
  Dallas to El Paso — road trip route and timing,https://boardspy.site/blog/dallas-to-el-paso-road-trip/
  Fort Worth to El Paso — I-20 route guide,https://boardspy.site/blog/fort-worth-to-el-paso-i20-route-guide/