Existed: 1941 – present East end: I-10 near Orange Constructed 1941 | West end: I-10 in Winnie Length 67.62 km | |
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Counties Chambers County, Texas, Jefferson County, Texas, Orange County, Texas | ||
State Highway 73 (SH 73) is a Texas state highway that runs 42 miles (68 km) from Winnie through Port Arthur to near Orange.
Contents
Map of TX-73, Texas, USA
In September 2008, Hurricane Ike forced the closure of SH 73. Among other road debris left by the storm were two 200-ton barges. The storm surge pushed the barges almost 10 miles (16 km) before they came to rest on the highway.
Previous routes
The original SH 73 was designated in 1926 from Oldenburg to Houston. By 1933, it was rerouted southwest to Columbus, white a portion of the old route being transferred to SH 159. By 1941, the route was adjusted so that, instead of extending west from Houston, it was now designated east from Houston to Port Arthur. This was previously SH 228. Construction was slow, with only small portions outside Houston, Port Arthur, and the stretch from Winnie to Anahuac (signed as 73-T) completed by 1954. In 1961, the route was shortened from Port Arthur to Winnie, with the western portions having been replaced by Interstate 10 (I-10). SH 73-T was transferred to SH 65. In 1982, the route was extended along its current route to Orange, along a concurrent route with SH 87 and SH 62.
SH 73A was designated in 1927 from SH 73 in Fayetteville to Hempstead as a replacement for SH 3C. By 1931, this route was renumbered as SH 159.
In popular culture
SH 73 is shown as a road sign in the opening 10 seconds of the 1941 movie Moon Over Miami immediately following the opening credits. There is no mention of the city in that film. A similar road sign of SH 73 is also depicted on the set of The Partridge Family.