Existed: 1949 – present East end: I-610 in Houston Constructed 1949 | West end: FM 3013 in Eagle Lake Length 87.5 km | |
Farm to Market Road 1093 (FM 1093) is a 50.476-mile (81.233 km) farm to market road in the U.S. state of Texas. It begins in Eagle Lake at FM 3013 and heads east to Interstate 610 in Houston. In Houston, a portion of FM 1093 becomes "Westheimer Road", where the FM 1093 designation is downplayed significantly.
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Map of Farm to Market 1093, Texas, USA
East of Loop 610, Westheimer Rd. becomes Elgin at Bagby St. (Midtown District) and terminates at Spur 5 adjacent to the campus of the University of Houston.
Westheimer Rd. is named after M.L. Westheimer, who owned a farm in the 1920s near what is now the Uptown District of Houston. His nephews include Mark Westheimer, a locally famous attorney, and David Westheimer, author of Von Ryan's Express and many other novels.
The official designation for FM 1093 from SH 99 to Loop 610 is Urban Road 1093, though this moniker is limited to state highway markers. The only place the Urban Road 1093 designation is used is the Texas Department of Transportation's official files.
In Houston, FM 1093 is a major thoroughfare through west Houston and outlying neighborhoods, with sections 8 lanes wide, not including turning lanes.
History
FM 1093 was designated in 1949 from FM 359 east to Post Oak Road west of Houston. This was more than a decade before the I-10 Katy Freeway opened. As west Houston was sparsely populated at the time, the road served mainly as a transportation route for cargo in and out of Houston. In 1951, FM 1093 extended west to SH 36, replacing FM 1094. In 1954, FM 1093 extended west to US 90 Alternate, replacing FM 1597 from US 90 Alternate to the Wharton County Line. In 1962, FM 1093 extended east to IH-610. In the 1960s, the west side went through major growth after the Katy Freeway was foreseen, and neighborhoods and businesses quickly developed. 1093, popularly known in the city as Westheimer, became a major thoroughfare for westside residents traveling into Uptown Houston and Downtown Houston. In 1971, the section of FM 1093 from US 90 Alternate to FM 3013 was transferred to FM 3013. In 1995, the section from SH 99 to IH 610 became an urban road.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Westheimer became clogged with offices, restaurants and strip malls all along its route (notably including the Westchase District). Due to major traffic, the road's lane capacity expanded many times as popularity continued to grow.
Effects of Westpark Tollway
The Westpark Tollway, opened in 2005, was purposely designed to lessen Westheimer's traffic flow and serve as a thoroughfare for travelers from George Bush Park and Bellaire. Both the Westpark Tollway and 1093 run almost parallel to each other, changing the opposite's traffic flow. West of State Highway 6, FM 1093 and Westpark Tollway merge into one route, with FM 1093 forming the free frontage roads, while the Westpark Tollway forms the main lanes.
The tollway has not drastically diverted traffic on Westheimer and is open solely to EZ Tag users. The tollway is designed to provide easier access to freeways such as Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and others which 1093 doesn't serve. Before the Katy Freeway was significantly modernized and widened (west of the I-610 Loop) in 2008-2009, congestion on Westheimer and Westpark Tollway was far heavier than it is currently.