Texas State Highway 71

State Highway 71
State Highway 71
	Map SH 71 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by TxDOT
Length	253.199 mi (407.484 km)
Existed	1923–present
Major junctions
West end	US 87 / US 377 near Brady
	US 281 near Marble Falls; US 290 in Austin; I-35 in Austin; US 183 in Austin; US 77 at La Grange; US 90 in Columbus; I-10 in Columbus; ; US 90 Alt. at Altair; US 59 at El Campo;
East end	SH 35 at Blessing
Location
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	McCulloch, Mason, San Saba, Llano, Burnet, Blanco, Travis, Bastrop, Fayette, Colorado, Wharton, Matagorda
Highway system
	Highways in Texas; Interstate; US; State; Toll; Loops; Spurs; FM/RM; Park; Rec;

State Highway 71 (SH 71) is a Texas state highway that runs 253 miles (407 km). The northern terminus is at US 87 and US 377 south of Brady and its southern terminus is at SH 35 near Blessing. This highway is designated the "10th Mountain Division Highway" from SH 95 to Interstate 35.

History

SH 71 was originally designated on August 21, 1923 from Austin to Columbus, replacing SH 3D and the western half of SH 3A.^[2] On June 8, 1925, SH 71 was extended to Midfield, though this was not effective until 1926.^[3] On March 19, 1928, it extended south to its current end. On June 21, 1938, SH 71 Spur was designated in Columbus.^[4] In 1935, U.S. Highway 290 was codesignated along the stretch from Austin to Bastrop, dropping SH 71 from this section completely on September 26, 1939. SH 71 Spur was renumbered as Spur 52. On May 23, 1951, this section was restored when US 290 was rerouted farther north. On October 24, 1955, SH 71 was signed, but not designated along Ranch to Market Road 93 to Llano. On October 31, 1965, the highway was extended to its current designation over the cancelled Ranch to Market Road 93 and Ranch to Market Road 734. On February 16, 1982, SH 71 was relocated in Columbus.

Austin

Through Austin, SH 71 is known as Ben White Boulevard and is one of Austin's newest freeways. Sections have opened regularly since 1996, when the first section west of Interstate 35 was opened. A five-level stack was completed at Interstate 35 in December 2011, and the freeway east of Interstate 35 to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was completed in 2014. Construction commenced in 2015 east of US 183 (Bastrop Freeway) where a section of SH 71 to the SH 130 tollway has been converted into a tollway with a two lane bridge crossing SH 130.

Major displacements of commercial properties were required to build the Austin expansions. Most of the freeway had a 150-foot (46 m) wide right-of-way which was expanded to over 300 feet (91 m), and the western segment, which opened in 1998, was built on an 80-foot (24 m) right-of-way. The section at the western end required many more business displacements. The new freeway features depressed sections, elevated sections, and partial stack interchanges.

Business routes

SH 71 has two business routes.

La Grange business loop

Business State Highway 71-E (Bus. SH 71-E) is a business loop that runs through La Grange. The road was designated in 1991 upon completion of a bypass around the city.^[5]

Columbus business loop

Business State Highway 71-F (Bus. SH 71-F) is a business loop that runs through Columbus. The city was bypassed on February 16, 1982, and the original route was designated as Loop 329. The route received the Bus. SH 71-F designation on June 21, 1990.^[6]^[7]

Junction list

County	Location	mi	Destinations	Notes
McCulloch	Brady		US 87 / US 377 – Brady, Mason
			FM 2309 north – Brady
			FM 1851 – Voca
			FM 1851 south – Voca
			FM 3293 west
Mason	Fredonia		RM 386 south – Mason
San Saba	No major intersections
Mason	Pontotoc		RM 501 east – Cherokee
Llano			SH 29 west – Mason	West end of SH 29 overlap
	Llano		SH 16 north / SH 29 east – San Saba, Burnet	East end of SH 29 overlap; west end of SH 16 overlap
			RM 152 west – Castell
			SH 16 south – Fredericksburg	East end of SH 16 overlap
			FM 2333 east – Sunrise Beach Village
			RM 962 east – Round Mountain
			RM 2831 north
			RM 2147 east – Horseshoe Bay, Cottonwood Shores
Burnet	Marble Falls		US 281 – Marble Falls, Burnet, Johnson City, San Antonio	Cloverleaf Interchange
Blanco	No major intersections
Travis			RM 2322 north (Pace Bend Road) – Briarcliff, Pace Bend State Park
	Bee Cave		RM 3238 west (Hamilton Pool Road)
			RM 620 north – Lakeway, Round Rock
			RM 2244 east – West Lake Hills
	Austin		US 290 west – Johnson City, Fredericksburg	West end of US 290 overlap
		See US 290
			I-35 / US 290 east – Waco, San Antonio	East end of US 290 overlap
			Woodward Street, Todd Lane, Burleson Road
			Montopolis Drive
			Riverside Drive
			US 183 (Bastrop Highway) / 183 Toll Road (Bergstrom Expressway) – Lampasas, Lockhart	East end of freeway
			Spirit of Texas Drive – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport	Interchange; no direct westbound exit and eastbound entrance (signed at Presidential Boulevard / Cardinal Loop)
			Cardinal Loop / Presidential Boulevard – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Del Valle	Interchange; West end of 71 Toll Lanes
			FM 973 – Manor, Mustang Ridge	Interchange; no direct westbound exit and eastbound entrance (signed at SH 130)
			SH 45 Toll north / SH 130 Toll north – Waco	Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; SH 130 exit 449
			SH 45 Toll / SH 130 Toll – Bastrop, San Antonio	SH 130 exit 449; East end of 71 Toll Lanes
Bastrop			FM 1209 – Webberville
			SH 21 west – San Marcos	Interchange; west end of SH 21 overlap
			FM 20 south to FM 969 north – Lockhart, Webberville	West end of expressway
	Bastrop		SH 304 south to FM 969 – Gonzalez
			Loop 150 east / Hasler Boulevard / Childers Drive – Bastrop, Bastrop State Park	East end of expressway
			SH 21 east / SH 95 north – Bryan, Elgin	Interchange; east end of SH 21 overlap; west end of SH 95 overlap
			Loop 150 west – Bastrop, Bastrop State Park	Interchange
			SH 95 south / FM 153 east / Loop 230 east – Smithville, Flatonia, Winchester	Interchange; east end of SH 95 overlap
	Smithville		Colorado Street (County Road 319)	Interchange
	Smithville		Loop 230 west – Smithville	Interchange
Fayette			Loop 543 east – West Point
			FM 154 – West Point, Muldoon
			Loop 543 west – West Point
			Loop 220 east – Plum
			Loop 220 west – Plum
			Bus. SH 71 east – La Grange	West end of freeway
	La Grange		US 77 / Von Minden Street – Giddings, Schulenburg	Access to St Mark's Medical Center
	La Grange		SH 159 – Bellville, La Grange
			Bus. SH 71 west – La Grange	East end of freeway
			FM 955 north – Fayetteville
	Ellinger		FM 2503 north
Colorado	Hillcrest		FM 1890 west (Shaws Bend Road)
			Bus. SH 71 east – Columbus	Interchange
	Columbus		Round House Road	Interchange
	Columbus		US 90 – Weimar, Sealy	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			I-10 west – San Antonio	Interchange; west end of I-10 overlap, exit 693 eastbound, 695 westbound; no eastbound entrance
	Columbus		I-10 east / Bus. SH 71 west – Houston, Columbus	East end of I-10 overlap, exit 696
	Altair		US 90 Alt. – Hallettsville, Eagle Lake
			FM 1693 west
	Garwood		FM 950 east – Matthews
			FM 333 west
Wharton			FM 1160 south – Louise
			FM 961 east – Wharton
			FM 2546 – Jones Creek
			FM 2546 north – Jones Creek
			FM 1300 west
	El Campo		FM 2765 (Loop Street)
			FM 653 south (Wharton Street)
			I-69 BL / Bus. US 59 – Pierce, Louise
			FM 1163 south (2nd Street)
			FM 653 north (Wharton Street)
			Future I-69 / US 59 – Houston, Wharton, Ganado	I-69/US 59 exit 62; U.S. 59 is the future Interstate 69
			FM 2674 south
	Danevang		FM 441 north – Hillje
Matagorda			FM 1468 east – Markham
	Midfield		SH 111 west / FM 2431 east – Edna, Markham
			FM 456 east
	Blessing		SH 35 – Bay City, Palacios
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access