Texas State Highway 211

State Highway 211 (SH 211) (Hill Country Parkway) is a 11.184-mile (17.999 km) state highway west of the city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. This route was designated in 1986 as an access route to the Texas Research Park. Portions of the route were built, but significant landowner opposition kept the connecting section from being completed. The completed sections of the route consist of a southern section from U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) north to Farm to Market Road 1957 (FM 1957) and a northern section from FM 471 north to SH 16. The Texas Transportation Commission has approved a pass-through toll agreement that Bexar County submitted in October 2008. This proposal will allow for development of a segment of SH 211 (Hill Country Parkway) from 1.33 miles south of FM 1957 to FM 471 and improvements to FM 1957 (Potranco Road) from Loop 1604 to the Medina County line. The completion of the section between FM 1957 (Potranco Road) to FM 471 (Culebra Road) will finally allow for seamless travel from Hwy 90 at the south end, north to SH 16 (Bandera Road). The improvements to FM 1957 (Potranco Road) will allow for the necessary widening of the two-lane roadway which is dealing with new suburban growth and traffic for which it wasn't built to handle.

State Highway 211
Hill Country Parkway
SH 211 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	11.184 mi[1] (17.999 km)
Existed	1986–present
Southern segment
Length	3.7 mi[2] (6.0 km)
South end	US 90
North end	FM 1957
Northern segment
Length	7.4 mi[3] (11.9 km)
South end	FM 471
North end	SH 16
Location
Counties	Bexar, Medina
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate U.S. State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 210 → SH 212

History

The current alignment was designated on March 31, 1986, from US 90 northward to SH 16. On November 29, 1988, the designation was extended northeastward from SH 16 to FM 3351.[1] Construction of the current segments of the highway were completed in the early 1990s. The southern portion was the first to be completed with the interchange at US 90 and the bridge over Lucas Creek completed in 1990.[4][5][6] The northern portion was completed the following year in 1991 with the completion of the bridges over San Geronimo Creek.[7][8][9]

SH 211 was previously designated on August 1, 1934[10] on a route from Brenham northward to Independence.[11] On January 26, 1935, it extended north to Clay.[12] On July 15, 1935, this extension was cancelled.[13] On January 6, 1939, the remainder of SH 211 was cancelled.[14] On January 22, 1940, SH 211 was restored (south of Old Independence only). On October 26, 1942, SH 211 was cancelled and mileage was transferred to Farm to Market Road 50 and State Highway Spur 197 (Spur 197 became Farm to Market Road 390 and Farm to Market Road 390 Spur on March 13, 1958).

Route description

SH 211 currently exists in two separate sections west of San Antonio. The southern section begins at a diamond interchange with US 90 in western Bexar County. The route travels to the north as a two-lane highway with a northbound passing lane for the majority of the route and is known as either the Texas Research Parkway or the Hill Country Parkway (once it's finally completed), providing access to the Texas Research Park and a Citi service center.[15][16] This 3.7-mile (6.0 km) section of the highway ends at FM 1957 just east of the Bexar/Medina county line.[2]

The northern section (Hill Country Parkway) begins at FM 471 in Medina County and heads north as a two-lane highway, crossing back over into Bexar County and passes briefly through the San Antonio city limits before ending at SH 16. The northern section of the highway features the occasional passing lane in both directions.[3] This 7.4-mile (11.9 km) section of the roadway includes a design to provide protection to the Edwards Aquifer, the drinking water supply of San Antonio. To prevent runoff from the highway entering the aquifer, a 555-foot-long (169 m) bridge was sealed to prevent it from leaking and an aqueduct was constructed nearby to carry the runoff.[9]

There are plans to connect the two segments, but there were insufficient funds available to complete the nearly 8-mile (12.9 km) project and right-of-way needs to be acquired. TxDOT only has $7.7 million of the $30 million required for construction costs.[17] Bexar County will pay for the balance of the project costs with TxDOT reimbursing the County when funds become available.[18] Relocation assistance is being provided to landowners to persuade them to sell their property for the highway. With a shortage of funds and the right-of-way not purchased, there is no time table for construction. Local opposition to the extension cite greater highway needs elsewhere, environmental concerns in the corridor, and a reluctance to sell land needed for the highway as chief concerns of the highway. Once completed, the highway is believed to provide relief to nearby Loop 1604.[17]

As of mid July 2017 the findings for the environmental impact study have been released. Approval of the study is expected 3rd quarter of 2017 with construction to begin in 1st quarter 2018 and be completed mid 2019.[19]

The traffic volume of the highway is dramatically different between the southern and northern sections. The southern section sees traffic volumes six times of that of the northern section. The traffic volume of the southern section saw a slight increase from 2005 to 2006. In 2005, it had a traffic volume of 6,450 annual average daily traffic (AADT), which increased to 6,700 AADT in 2006. The traffic volume of the northern section saw a slight increase from 2005 to 2006 as well. In 2005, it had a traffic volume of 1,000 AADT near the southern end of the road and 1,300 AADT near the northern end. In 2006, these numbers had increased to 1,050 and 1,550 AADT respectively.[20]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[2][3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Bexar	​	0.0	0.0	US 90 – San Antonio, Hondo	Southern terminus of southern segment
	​	3.7	6.0	FM 1957 – Rio Medina, San Antonio	Northern terminus of southern segment
Gap in route
Medina	​	3.7	6.0	FM 471 – San Antonio, Castroville	Southern terminus of northern segment
Bexar	​	11.1	17.9	SH 16 – Bandera, San Antonio	Northern terminus of northern segment
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

•  Texas portal
•  U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 211". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 12, 2006.
2. Google (February 20, 2008). "Overview map of southern section of State Highway 211" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
3. Google (February 20, 2008). "Overview map of northern section of State Highway 211" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
4. Staff. "US 90 interchange". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
5. Staff. "Lucas Creek bridge". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
6. Staff. "Texas Research Park Timeline". Texas Research & Technology Foundation. Archived from the original on September 16, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
7. Staff. "Southern San Geronimo Creek bridge". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
8. Staff. "Northern San Geronimo Creek bridge". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
9. Coburn, James (October 30, 1991). "W. Bexar highway section opens New part of Texas 211 designed to protect aquifer". San Antonio Express-News. p. 9A.
10. (Map). Austin. Missing or empty |title= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
11. Texas State Highway Department. "Minute Orders of the July 30, 1934 Meeting of the Texas State Highway Department" (PDF). Austin, TX. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
12. Texas State Highway Department. "Minute Orders of the January 26, 1935 Meeting of the Texas State Highway Department" (PDF). Austin, TX. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
13. Texas State Highway Department. "Minute Orders of the July 15, 1935 Meeting of the Texas State Highway Department" (PDF). Austin, TX. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
14. Texas State Highway Department. "Minute Orders of the January 6, 1939 Meeting of the Texas State Highway Department" (PDF). Austin, TX. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
15. Lorek, L.A. (August 4, 2004). "Texas Research Park might sell 200 acres to fund venture capital". San Antonio Express-News.
16. Hipp, Laura (June 12, 1998). "Citicorp starts new building". San Antonio Express-News. p. 1E.
17. Lucio, Valentino (July 30, 2007). "Funds, right of way lacking to begin building Texas 211". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
18. Conger, Joe (August 10, 2007). "TxDOT plans to extend SH 211 to relieve traffic congestion". San Antonio, Texas: KENS-TV. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
19. "San Antonio Area Roads & More – SH 211". texashighwayman.com. July 22, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
20. TxDOT Statewide Planning Map (Map). Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 1, 2008.