FM 1776 begins at I-10 Exit 248 as a northward extension of the US 67 roadway which approaches from the southwest from Alpine and merges with I-10. The two-lane road continues to the north beneath the US 285 underpass and reaches Coyanosa. North of Coyanosa, FM 1776 joins and follows FM 1450 for a half-mile stretch southeast of the city ofPecos before turning off to the northeast. The road then leaves Pecos County at the Pecos River and crosses into Ward County where it intersects FM 1927 south of Pyote. The road then proceeds to the northeast crossing FM 1219 between Royalty and Wickett before terminating at SH 18 approximately south of Monahans. FM 1776 provides the most direct access to Monahans and points further east along I-20 from Alpine and more southern communities including Lajitas, Study Butte, and Terlingua. FM 1776 has a rural major collector functional class as rated by TxDOT. The road has a speed limit in Pecos County except for a section between US 285 and Coyanosa and a speed limit of in Ward County. The road has average annual daily traffic counts ranging from a low of 440 vehicles along the section between I-10 and US 285 to a high of 960 vehicles between Coyanosa and FM 1450. TxDOT projects these numbers to increase by 2030 to a low of 760 vehicles between I-10 and US 285 to a high of 1460 vehicles between FM 1450 and the Pecos River. Peak hour truck traffic ranges from 23.5 percent between Ward County Road 94 and SH 18 to 39 percent between US 285 and Pecos County Road 72.
History
FM 1776 was originally designated northward along a former alignment of US 96 between SH 184 at Bronson in Sabine County and SH 21 at Ford's Corner in San Augustine County on September 19, 1951. The former road became an extension of FM 1 on October 14, 1954. FM 1776 was briefly designated on February 17, 1955 along a Grimes County route from FM 149 in Richards southeastward toward Dacus to the Montgomery County line. The designation of the route did not survive the year before being combined with FM 1486 on November 2 of that year. The current route was designated on February 24, 1956 between FM 1450 and SH 18. The road was extended southward through Coyanosa to US 67 and US 290, the predecessor route to I-10 in much of western Texas, on May 6, 1964. Construction began on the US 285 interchange in 2011 and was completed the following year. The interchange was funded through a 2009 safety bond program due to a history of fatal accidents.
