Farm to Market Road 1093
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|||||||||
| Farm to Market Road 1093 |
|||||||||
| Length: | 50.5 mi (81 km) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 1949 | ||||||||
| East end: |  Interstate 610, Houston |
||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 Beltway 8
|
||||||||
| West end: | FM 3013 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
Farm to Market Road 1093, Texas Urban Road 1093, FM 1093, or Westheimer Road is a highway that runs through the counties Harris, Fort Bend, Austin, Wharton, and Colorado in southeast Texas. In Houston, a portion of FM 1093 makes up "Westheimer Road;" the road continues inside the 610 Loop as Westheimer Road when it is not FM 1093.
Contents |
[edit] History
F.M. 1093 was built in the 1950s, a decade before the Katy Freeway. Most of west Houston was sparsely populated, F.M. 1093 was designated mainly as a transportation route for cargo in and out of Houston.
In the 1960s, the west side went through major growth after the Katy Freeway was foreseen, and neighborhoods and businesses quickly developed. F.M. 1093, popularly known as Westheimer, became a major thoroughfare for westside residents traveling into the Houston metro area.
Throughout the 70s and early 80s, F.M. 1093 became clogged with offices, resturants and strip malls all along its route. Due to major traffic, the road's lane capacity had been expanded many times, as popularity continued to grow.
Modern-day residents consider Westheimer a very important road, and is most notable for its popular mix of resturants, the opening of the Galleria mall, Houston's largest mall, and the Williams Tower, a skyscraper totaling just over 900 feet tall.
[edit] Route Overview
FM 1093 begins at Interstate 610 (West Loop) in Houston. It runs for 50.5 miles in a mostly westerly direction, ending at Farm to Market Road 3013 in Eagle Lake, Colorado County.
[edit] Effects of Westpark Tollway
Both the Westpark Tollway and F.M. 1093 run almost parallel to each other, changing the opposites traffic flow. The Westpark Tollway, opened in 2005, was purposely designed to lessen Westheimer's traffic flow and serve as a thoroughfare for travelers from George Bush Park and Bellaire.
The tollway hasn't drastically diverted traffic on Westheimer and is only open to EZ Tag users. The tollway is designed to provide easier access to freeways such as Highway 59 and others which F.M. 1093 doesn't serve.
The Westpark Tollway isn't much of an effect to Westheimer, yet some traffic is still diverted.
[edit] Notable Towns
[edit] Trivia
- The county with the shortest length of FM 1093 is in Wharton County
- The official designation for FM 1093 from SH 99 to Loop 610 is Texas Urban Road 1093, though this moniker is not stated on road signs or addresses, or even anywhere outside of the Texas Department of Transportation's official files.
- The road is wider than some notable Houston freeways, including Interstate 10, Interstate 610, and Beltway 8 in some areas.
- While elsewhere in the city of Houston, from the Loop 610 to the downtown area where it ends, the road is small. This is due to major establishments in the area, including Highland Village (a shopping center) Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, Lanier Middle School, and other historic buildings.
