Texas State Highway 151

State Highway 151 (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 SeaWorld San Antonio theme park, Chase, Northwest Vista College, and the future site of a Microsoft data center.

State Highway 151
Stotzer Freeway
SH 151 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	10.667 mi[1] (17.167 km)
Existed	1984[1]–present
Major junctions
West end	Loop 1604 in San Antonio
	I-410 in San Antonio
East end	US 90 in San Antonio
Location
Counties	Bexar
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate U.S. State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 150 → SH 152

History

Previous designation

The first SH 151 was designated on March 19, 1930, from Mason to Menard as a renumbering of SH 29A. On February 11, 1938, SH 151 was extended west to Eldorado.[2] On April 29, 1942, the section of SH 151 west of Menard was cancelled and renamed FM 43, with the section west of the roadway north of the San Saba River 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of US 83 cancelled. On March 17, 1948, FM 43 became part of SH 151, extending it to Eldorado. On August 22, 1951, SH 151 was cancelled and transferred to SH 29 which was extended.

Planning

The route of SH 151 was originally conceived in 1983 by local land developer Charles Martin Wender 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.[3] 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][4] SH 151 was designated on March 14, 1984, on its current route.

Construction

The freeway was built in phases with the frontage roads constructed first followed by the main lanes.[3] 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.[5][6][7] In 1988, the I-410 overpasses over the SH 151 frontage roads were completed,[8] as was the interchange with US 90 at the eastern terminus.[9] 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.[10][11] The main lane overpasses at FM 1957 (Potranco Road) and Ingram Road were completed in 1997.[12][13] The overpasses at Pinn Road and Enrique M. Barrera Parkway were completed in 1998,[14][15] and completed at Callaghan Road in 2000.[16] Construction of the freeway was completed in 2004.[3]

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.[17] 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.[18] Microsoft has also selected the corridor for a $550 million data center.[19] The highway continues to the southeast to a junction with Interstate 410 (I-410), the inner loop around San Antonio.[17] A new direct, flyover interchange was built connecting eastbound TX-151 with northbound I-410, alleviating traffic at its busiest stretches. A fully directional, stack interchange has been planned, partially funded, and is set to begin construction in 2019. The highway continues to the southeast through mainly undeveloped land until it merges with US 90.[17] 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.[20]

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.[21] 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.[21][22]

Exit list

The entire route is in San Antonio, Bexar County. All exits are unnumbered.

mi[23]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.0	0.0	Loop 1604 (Anderson Loop)	Interchange; roadway continues west as Alamo Ranch Parkway
0.9	1.4	Wiseman Boulevard
1.8	2.9	Westover Hills Boulevard	Access to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital Westover Hills
2.8	4.5	Military Drive	Access to SeaWorld San Antonio and Aquatica San Antonio
3.7	6.0	Hunt Lane	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
4.4	7.1	FM 1957 (Potranco Road) / Ingram Road
5.5	8.9	I-410 / SH 16	I-410 north exit 9, south exit 9A
6.7	10.8	Military Drive, Pinn Road	No eastbound exit
8.5	13.7	Callaghan Road
9.2	14.8	Enrique M. Barrera Parkway	Eastbound exit is via Callaghan Road exit
10.7	17.2	36th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
10.7	17.2	US 90 east – San Antonio	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

•  Texas portal
•  U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 151". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 11, 2006.
2. "Minutes of the Two Hundred Forty-ninth Special Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Austin, Texas. February 11, 1938.
3. Driscoll, Patrick (September 1, 2004). "Ribbon cut for San Antonio-area highway project". San Antonio Express-News.
4. "Texas Turnpike Agency May Shift Sights to San Antonio". The Bond Buyer. New York. February 15, 2000.
5. Staff. "Wiseman Boulevard overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
6. Staff. "Westover Hills Boulevard overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
7. Staff. "Military Drive overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
8. Staff. "I-410 overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
9. Staff. "US 90 and Acme Road overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
10. Staff. "Leon Creek Frontage Road Bridge". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
11. Staff. "Slick Ranch Creek Frontage Road Bridge". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
12. Staff. "FM 1957 (Potranco Road) overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
13. Staff. "Ingram Road overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
14. Staff. "Pinn Road overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
15. Staff. "Old Highway 90 overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
16. Staff. "Callaghan Road overpass". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
17. Google (February 6, 2008). "Overview map of State Highway 151" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
18. Pesquera, Adolfo (August 1, 2001). "Highway Likely to Help Economic Growth in Westover Hills, Texas". San Antonio Express-News.
19. Lorek, L.A. (January 18, 2007). "S.A. lands Microsoft's $550 million facility". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
20. City of San Antonio Development Services. "San Antonio Master Thoroughfare Plan" (PDF). City of San Antonio. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
21. 2005 Traffic Count Map (PDF) (Map). Texas Department of Transportation. September 9, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
22. 2003 Traffic Count Map (PDF) (Map). Texas Department of Transportation. October 4, 2004. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
23. Google (February 11, 2008). "Overview map of State Highway 151 (distances between interchanges)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 11, 2008.