Existed: 1954 – present Length 25.72 km | Constructed 1954 | |
Farm to Market Road 1957 (FM 1957), is a Farm to Market Road in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Medina and Bexar counties, the 15.983-mile-long (25.722 km) highway serves as an arterial street through the growing western suburbs of San Antonio. FM 1957 is known as Potranco Road within Bexar County, and is legislatively defined as Urban Road 1957 (UR 1957) east of Loop 1604.
Contents
Map of FM1957, San Antonio, TX, USA
The modern routing of this highway was originally defined in 1954. Since then, FM 1957's western terminus has been extended to FM 471 near Rio Medina, and the entire routing along Culebra Road was transferred to FM 3487. Before the current routing was established, FM 1957 was also the designation for a highway in Borden County from 1951 to 1954, now part of FM 1610.
Route description
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. In far western Bexar County, Potranco Road travels through recently built, patchy, residential developments. 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 five lanes wide, with two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane, the legislative definition of FM 1957 becomes UR 1957; 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 FM 3487 (Culebra Road), slightly west of Interstate 410 (I-410). Potranco Road continues as a city street until Ingram Road.
Previous designation
FM 1957 was formerly designated as a highway in Borden County, defined in 1951. This road traveled from U.S. Highway 180 near Gail to a nearby school, a distance of 8.5 miles (13.7 km). The former FM 1957 was combined with FM 1610 in 1954.
Current designation
The present-day FM 1957 was defined in 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 13.8 miles (22.2 km). The highway gained a 0.1-mile (0.16 km) spur connection to Loop 13 (present-day I-410) in 1956. The following year, FM 1957 was extended to its present western terminus, at FM 471 near Rio Medina. This added 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to the highway. In 1988, the entire routing along Culebra Road was transferred to the newly created FM 3487. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) started defining urban roads in 1995, at which time the segment of FM 1957 east of Loop 1604, measuring 5.4 miles (8.7 km), was transferred to the newly defined UR 1957. Despite the change in legal definition, UR 1957 continues to be signed as FM 1957.