State Highway 71
SH 71 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	253.199 mi[1] (407.484 km)
Existed	1923–present
Major junctions
West end	US 87 / US 377 near Brady
Major intersections	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 Future I-69 / 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
← SH 70 → SH 72

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[edit]

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 was 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[edit]

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[edit]

SH 71 has two business routes.

La Grange business loop[edit]

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[edit]

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]

Major intersections[edit]

County	Location	mi	km	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 junctions
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 junctions
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
	​			Ross Road / Kellam Road	Interchange under construction[8]
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 / Tahitian Drive – 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
				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
				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
				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

References[edit]