Texas State Highway 46

State Highway 46
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	71.811 mi[1] (115.569 km)
Existed:	by 1922 – present
Major junctions
West end:	SH 16
	I-10 / US 87 in Boerne US 281 in Bulverde I-35 in New Braunfels
East end:	SH 123 in Seguin
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← SH 45 SH 47 →

Texas State Highway 46 west of its intersection with Loop 337

State Highway 46, or SH 46, is a 71.4-mile (114.9 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from State Highway 16 east of Bandera to the intersection of SH 123 and SH 123 Business just south of Seguin.

History

SH 46 was originally designated by 1922 as a route from New Braunfels north to Blanco. By 1926, the route had been shortened, with the section north of Spring Branch transferred to SH 108. This alignment of SH 46 only consisted of the portion from U.S. Highway 281 (US 281) to US 81 in New Braunfels.^[1] US 81 no longer exists today in favor of Interstate 35 (I-35) and is known as a business loop of I-35.^[2][3] In October 1967, the highway was relocated in New Braunfels to the east along the alignment of Loop 337 (Loop 337), but still had an eastern terminus at US 81.^[1] The original alignment in New Braunfels was redesignated as Loop 453, but to be signed as a business route of SH 46.^[4] In 1991, the designation of this segment was officially changed to Business 46.^[5] In February 1968, it was extended to the south from US 81 to I-35.^[6] In October 1988, the highway was extended at both ends, extending the eastern end south along Farm to Market Road 25 from I-35 and FM 78 and then along Spur 351 from FM 78 to I-10 in Seguin.^[1] The western terminus was extended to the west along Ranch to Market Road 475 from US 281 to SH 16.^[1] A portion of this route had been FM 1719 which had been combined with RM 475 in 1951.^[7] In May 1990, the highway was extended to its current alignment when it was extended south from I-10 to SH 123 along Spur 351.^[1]

Route description

SH 46 begins at its western terminus at SH 16, east of Bandera in Bandera County.^[1] The highway heads to the northeast, crossing over into Kendall County on its way to Boerne where it intersects with I-10 and US 87. SH 46 carries the street name of Bandera Road from I-10 until US 87. At US 87, there is a short break in the highway with SH 46 continuing again further north with the name River Road. SH 46 leaves the city limits of Boerne to the east and follows an east-northeast routing through rural Kendall County. An intersection with FM 3351 occurs just prior to heading into Comal County. Continuing to the east, SH 46 passes FM 2696 before coming into the city of Bulverde. In Bulverde, SH 46 intersects with US 281 at a diamond interchange, which provides access to San Antonio to the south. The highway continues to the east-southeast, passing several farm-to-market roads with FM 3159 and RM 2722 providing access to Canyon Lake. As it enters New Braunfels, Texas, it intersects and becomes concurrent with Loop 337, providing the northern and eastern arcs of the loop around New Braunfels.^[1] In New Braunfels, the highway passes over the Guadalupe River and intersects I-35. Continuing to the south-southeast, it heads towards Seguin as it passes into Guadalupe County and roughly parallels the Guadalupe River to the east. In Seguin, SH 46 passes I-10 and US 90 before ending at SH 123 just south of Seguin.^[1][8]

Junction list

County	Location	mi[9]	km	Destinations	Notes
Bandera		0.0	0.0	SH 16 – Bandera, San Antonio	Western terminus of SH 46
Kendall	Boerne	11.0	17.7	I-10 / US 87 – Comfort, San Antonio	I-10 exit 540.
		11.65	18.75	Bus. US 87 south (Main Street)	West end of US 87 Bus. overlap
		12.3	19.8	Bus. US 87 north (Main Street)	East end of US 87 Bus. overlap
		22.5	36.2	FM 3351 (Curry Creek Road)
Comal		29.9	48.1	PR 31 (Spring Branch Road) – Guadalupe River State Park
	Bulverde	32.75	52.71	US 281 – Johnson City, San Antonio
		37.15	59.79	FM 3159 (Smithson Valley Road)
	Canyon Lake	38.5	62.0	FM 311	West end of FM 311 overlap
		41.1	66.1	FM 3009
	New Braunfels	47.5	76.4	RM 2722	Interchange
		49.5	79.7	FM 1863	Southern terminus of FM 311;East end of FM 311 overlap
		50.9	81.9	Loop 337 south / Bus. SH 46 (Walnut Avenue) – New Braunfels	West end of Loop 337 overlap
		53.6	86.3	Rock Street – Gruene	Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		53.67	86.37	Gruene Road – Gruene	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		54.7	88.0	Common Street - Gruene
		56.0	90.1	BL I-35 (Elliot Knox Boulevard)
		56.25	90.53	I-35 – Austin, San Antonio	East end of Loop 337 overlap
				FM 1101 (Freiheit Road)
Guadalupe		59.0	95.0	FM 758 – New Braunfels Regional Airport
	Seguin	66.2	106.5	FM 78 – Kirby	Interchange
		66.5	107.0	I-10 – Houston, San Antonio	I-10 exit 607
		67.15	108.07	US 90 (Kingsbury Street) – Kingsbury, San Antonio
		67.55	108.71	Alt. US 90 (Court Street) – Gonzales
		69.9	112.5	FM 725 (Liesner Road) – McQueeney
		70.5	113.5	FM 467
		71.75	115.47	Bus. SH 123 – San Marcos
		71.8	115.6	SH 123 (Stockdale Highway) – Stockdale	Eastern terminus of SH 46
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

^[10]

References

Route map: Bing / Google