Farm to Market Road 1957

FM 1957 begins at FM 471 near Rio Medina, as a two-lane country road. It then traverses mostly rural, undeveloped land, before reaching the Bexar–Medina county line, where it becomes Potranco Road.{{google maps|url= https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Farm+to+Market+1957+E&daddr=Potranco+Rd&hl=en&sll=29.45193,-98.634868&sspn=0.018012,0.01457&geocode=FQ4WwQEdzhwb-g%3BFfJywQEdBPce-g&oq=San+Antoni&t=h&mra=ls&z=11|title=Overview map of Farm to Market Road 1957|access-date=October 16, 2012}} In far western Bexar County, Potranco Road travels through recently built, patchy, residential developments.{{cite web|author=Staff|date=November 5, 2012 |title=San Antonio, Texas, USA|work=Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change|url= http://earthshots.usgs.gov/earthshots/San-Antonio-Texas|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=November 5, 2012}} Development becomes somewhat heavier after the highway passes State Highway 211 (SH 211), but FM 1957 still displays mostly rural characteristics until the highway reaches Loop 1604, at which point it enters the San Antonio city limits. Now four-to-five lanes wide, with two lanes in each direction and an intermittent center turn lane, the legislative definition of FM 1957 becomes UR 1957;{{TxDOT|UR|1957|access-date=March 21, 2016|link=no}} however, Potranco Road remains signed as FM 1957.

The highway continues eastward, serving residential developments, commercial outlets, and John Paul Stevens High School. It intersects with SH 151, where development once again becomes patchy. The most notable development along this stretch of Potranco is a National Security Agency data center. State maintenance ends at an intersection with Culebra Road (formerly FM 3487), slightly west of Interstate 410 (I-410). Potranco Road continues as a city street until Ingram Road.

FM 1957 was formerly designated as a highway in Borden County, defined on November 20, 1951. This road traveled from U.S. Highway 180 near Gail to Union school, a distance of {{convert|8.5|mi|km}}. The former FM 1957 was combined with FM 1610 on September 30, 1954.{{TxDOT|FM|1610|access-date=March 21, 2016|link=no}}

The present-day FM 1957 was defined on October 15, 1954. The original routing was along Culebra Road from its intersection with Grissom Road (FM 471) to Potranco Road, which it followed to the Medina County line, a distance of {{convert|13.8|mi|km}}. The highway gained a {{convert|0.1|mi|km|adj=on}} spur connection to Loop 13 (present-day I-410) on November 21, 1956. On October 31, 1957, FM 1957 was extended to its present western terminus, at FM 471 near Rio Medina. This added {{convert|5.3|mi|km}} to the highway. On December 30, 1988, the entire routing along Culebra Road was transferred to the newly created FM 3487.{{TxDOT|FM|3487|access-date=March 21, 2016|link=no}} (FM 3487 would be deleted on December 18, 2014.{{TxDOT|UR|3487|access-date=March 21, 2016|link=no}}) The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) started defining urban roads on June 27, 1995, at which time the segment of FM 1957 east of Loop 1604, measuring {{convert|5.4|mi|km}}, was transferred to the newly defined Urban Road 1957 (UR 1957). The designation of this segment reverted to FM 1957 with the elimination of the Urban Road system on November 15, 2018.{{cite web |url=https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2018/1115/4.pdf|title=Minute Order 115371|publisher=Texas Transportation Commission|date=November 15, 2018|access-date=July 30, 2020}}

On May 9, 2016, construction began to widen FM 1957 from two to four lanes between SH 211 and Loop 1604.{{cite web|url=https://www.bexar.org/DocumentCenter/View/4492/Capital-Improvement-Projects-Completed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113115346/https://www.bexar.org/DocumentCenter/View/4492/Capital-Improvement-Projects-Completed|archive-date=January 13, 2020|url-status=live|title=Capital Improvement Projects Completed|page=14|author=Staff|publisher=Bexar County|date=n.d.|access-date=January 13, 2020}} The project was financed with a pass-through partnership between Bexar County and TxDOT, with the county providing initial funding and the state reimbursing the costs later.{{cite web|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/northwest/news/article/Road-improvements-headed-to-northwest-Bexar-County-3489417.php|title=Road improvements headed to northwest Bexar County|first=Sergio "Chico"|last=Rodriguez|work=San Antonio Express-News|date=April 17, 2012|access-date=June 8, 2017}} Construction finished on July 19, 2019.

{{jcttop|state=TX|length_ref={{cite map|publisher=Texas Department of Transportation |cartography=Transportation Planning and Programming Division |url=http://www.txdot.gov/apps/statewide_mapping/StatewidePlanningMap.html |title=Statewide Planning Map |year=2012 |access-date=October 15, 2012}} }}

{{TXint

|county=Medina

|location=none

|mile=0.000

|road={{jct|state=TX|FM|471}}

}}

{{TXint

|county=Bexar

|cspan=4

|location=none

|mile=6.496

|road={{jct|state=TX|SH|211|name1=Hill Country Parkway}}

}}

{{TXint

|location=San Antonio

|lspan=3

|mile=11.069

|road={{jct|state=TX|Loop|1604|name1=Charles W. Anderson Loop}}

|notes=Interchange

}}

{{TXint

|mile=13.941

|road={{jct|state=TX|SH|151|name1=Raymond Stotzer Freeway}}

|notes=Interchange

}}

{{TXint

|mile=15.983

|road={{jct|state=TX|road|Culebra Road|to1=to|I|410|name1=Connally Loop}}
Potranco Road

|notes=Former FM 3487; roadway continues past Culebra Road as Potranco Road}}

{{jctbtm}}

• {{portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
• {{portal-inline|Texas}}

{{reflist|33em}}

{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}

• [http://www.aaroads.com/texas/ LoneStarRoads: Highways of Texas]
• [https://www.texashighwayman.com/texhwys.shtml#FM Texas Highways Primer] at TexasHighwayMan.com

{{good article}}

Category:Transportation in Medina County, Texas

Category:Transportation in Bexar County, Texas

Category:Transportation in San Antonio

1957