Texas State Highway 151

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the former SH 151, see Texas State Highway 151 (pre-1951).
State Highway 151
Maintained by TxDOT
Length: 10.667 mi[1] (17.167 km)
Formed: 1984[1]
West end: Loop 1604 in San Antonio
Major
junctions:		 I-410 in San Antonio
East end: US 90 in San Antonio
Highways in Texas
< SH 150 SH 152 >

State Highway 151, or SH 151, also known as the Raymond E. Stotzer Jr. Freeway is a 10.7-mile (17.2 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Loop 1604 to U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) in San Antonio. SH 151 is a limited-access freeway for its entire length with the exception of its junction with Loop 1604 at its western terminus where a traffic light controls the junction. The routing of the freeway was first conceived in 1983 and construction was conducted in phases through the 1980s and 1990s until completion in 2004. The freeway provides access to the western part of San Antonio, the Sea World theme park, Chase, and the future site of a Microsoft data center.

Contents

[edit] History

The route of Highway 151 was originally conceived in 1983 by a local land developer and later received approval by Raymond Stotzer, the district supervisor of the Texas Department of Transportation at the time and for whom the freeway would later be named. The freeway was a joint effort with landowners providing 85% of the right-of-way worth US$26 million and half of the cost of the frontage roads worth $14 million with the city buying the rest.[2] During the construction of the freeway, the Texas Turnpike Authority considered SH 151 as a candidate to become a toll road, but this drew much criticism from local politicians and the Bexar County commissioners and did not come to fruition.[3][2]

The freeway was built in phases with the frontage roads constructed first followed by the main lanes.[2] The overpasses for Wiseman Boulevard, Westover Hills Boulevard and Military Drive between I-410 and Loop 1604 were completed over the main lanes of SH 151 in 1987.[4][5][6] In 1988, the I-410 overpasses over the SH 151 frontage roads were completed,[7] as was the interchange with US 90 at the eastern terminus.[8] Also completed in 1988 were the frontage road bridges over Leon and Slick Ranch Creek, which enabled traffic to travel the entire corridor from Loop 1604 to US 90 by way of the frontage roads.[9][10] The main lane overpasses at FM 1957 (Potranco Road) and Ingram Road were completed in 1997.[11][12] The overpasses at Pinn Road and Old Highway 90 were completed in 1998,[13][14] and completed at Callaghan Road in 2000.[15] Construction of the freeway was completed in 2004.[2]

[edit] Route description

SH 151 begins at Loop 1604, the outer loop around San Antonio, on the west side of San Antonio and from there follows a southeastern path through the western part of the city.[16] The highway provides access to the SeaWorld San Antonio theme park as well as industry along its corridor to include Chase, Hyatt Hill Country Resort, World Savings, Philips semiconductor, the National Security Agency campus, QVC, American Funds, Maxim Integrated Products, and the Northwest Vista College, as well as the nearby Southwest Research Institute.[17] Microsoft has also selected the corridor for a $550 million data center.[18] The highway continues to the southeast to a junction with Interstate 410 (I-410), the inner loop around San Antonio.[16] There is not a direct connect interchange at the junction of I-410. It is necessary to travel on both highways' frontage roads in order to change highways. The highway continues to the southeast through mainly undeveloped land until it merges with US 90.[16] According to the San Antonio Master Thoroughfare Plan, there are plans to extend SH 151 westward from Loop 1604 to SH 211. The plan also shows the construction of an interchange at Loop 1604.[19]

Traffic volumes are low to moderate for the entire length of the freeway ranging from 14,500 average annual daily traffic (AADT) just east of Loop 1604 to 46,000 AADT between Farm to Market Road 1957 (FM 1957) and I-410.[20] Between 2003 and 2005, traffic volumes have remained steady between I-410 and US 90. In that same time period, traffic between I-410 and Loop 1604 has increased by 1,100-7,000 AADT.[20][21]

[edit] Exit list

The entire route is in San Antonio, Bexar County.

Mile[22] Destinations Notes
0.0 Loop 1604 At-grade intersection
0.9 Wiseman Boulevard
1.8 Westover Hills Boulevard
2.8 Military Drive
3.7 Hunt Lane Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
4.4 FM 1957 (Potranco Road) / Ingram Road
5.5 I-410 / SH 16
6.7 Military Drive, Pinn Road No eastbound exit
8.5 Callaghan Road
9.2 Old Highway 90 Eastbound exit is via Callaghan Road exit
10.7 36th Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
10.7 US 90 east – San Antonio Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Texas Department of Transportation. Highway Designation File - State Highway No. 151. Retrieved on 2006-08-11.
  2. ^ a b c d Driscoll, Patrick. "Ribbon cut for San Antonio-area highway project", San Antonio Express-News, 2004-09-01. 
  3. ^ "Texas Turnpike Agency May Shift Sights to San Antonio", The Bond Buyer, 2000-02-15. 
  4. ^ Wiseman Boulevard overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  5. ^ Westover Hills Boulevard overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  6. ^ Military Drive overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  7. ^ I-410 overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  8. ^ US 90 and Acme Road overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  9. ^ Leon Creek Frontage Road Bridge. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  10. ^ Slick Ranch Creek Frontage Road Bridge. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  11. ^ FM 1957 (Potranco Road) overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  12. ^ Ingram Road overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  13. ^ Pinn Road overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  14. ^ Old Highway 90 overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  15. ^ Callaghan Road overpass. National Bridge Inventory. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  16. ^ a b c Google Maps. Overview map of State Highway 151 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  17. ^ Pesquera, Adolfo. "Highway Likely to Help Economic Growth in Westover Hills, Texas", San Antonio Express-News, 2001-08-01. 
  18. ^ Lorek, L.A. (2007-01-18). S.A. lands Microsoft's $550 million facility. San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  19. ^ City of San Antonio Development Services. San Antonio Master Thoroughfare Plan. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  20. ^ a b Texas Department of Transportation (2006-09-09). 2005 Traffic Count Map. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  21. ^ Texas Department of Transportation (2004-10-04). 2003 Traffic Count Map. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  22. ^ Google Maps. Overview map of State Highway 151 Distances Between Interchanges [map]. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
v • d • e
San Antonio area freeways
Radial
Pan Am (I-35) • Rodriguez (US 90) • Stotzer (SH 151) • McDermott (I-10) • McAllister (US 281) • Jose Lopez (I-10) • Adams (I-37) • Kelly (proposed)
Belt
Other limited-access roads