Previous route A previous route numbered SH 255 was designated on October 26, 1937, beginning in
Bremond and traveling southeast via
Franklin and
Wheelock to
SH OSR. This route was cancelled on April 29, 1942, and the section south of one mile north of Wheelock became
FM 46.
Current route The route was originally approved in 1997 as a privately owned toll route for mainly truck traffic to bypass the city of Laredo for traffic congestion. The route was opened as the Camino Colombia Toll Road in October 2000, at a cost of approximately $90 million. SH 255 inherited its number from FM 255, which was designated on the route between the border crossing and
FM 1472 on January 30, 1989. The SH 255 designation was extended over this segment on June 30, 2005. The only other bidder was the Texas Department of Transportation at $11.1million. On June 1, 2009, cash collection was discontinued and the use of the
TxTag electronic toll collection system (or the interoperable
EZ TAG and
TollTag system) became mandatory. Unlike other TxDOT-operated toll roads, there was no pay-by-mail option, although the option to set up a prepaid day pass account was provided. Motorists were also able to use Laredo Trade Tags if they were connected to a TxTag account. During the 2017 Texas legislative session, language was added to Senate Bill 312 that disallowed TxDOT from continuing to operate the route as a toll project. The bill was passed by both the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives on May 30, 2017, was signed by the governor on June 9, 2017, and took effect September 1, 2017. ==Major intersections==