Texas State Highway 73
 State Highway 73 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SH 73 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TxDOT | ||||
| Length | 42.02 mi[1][a] (67.62 km) | |||
| Existed | 1923–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  I-10 in Winnie | |||
   US 69 / US 96 / US 287 in Port Arthur | ||||
| East end | I-10 near Orange | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Counties | Chambers, Jefferson, Orange | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Highway 73 (SH 73) is a Texas state highway that runs 42 miles (68 km) from Winnie through Port Arthur to near Orange.
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 inland before they came to rest on the highway.[2]
History
[edit]The original SH 73 was designated on August 21, 1923, from Oldenburg to Houston, absorbing the eastern half of SH 3A.[3] On October 26, 1932, it was rerouted southwest from Katy to Alleyton, with the portion from Oldenburg to Industry being another section (FM 109 would connect the two sections later).[4] On November 30, 1932, the section from Katy to Sealy was taken over for maintenance, and plans to construct the section from Sealy to Alleyton were underway.[5] On December 8, 1932, the section from Industry to Oldenburg was transferred to SH 159. On July 15, 1935, the section from Sealy to Alleyton was cancelled.[6] This section was restored on May 19, 1936.[7] On September 26, 1939, SH 73 was extended east to Port Arthur, replacing SH 228, and the stretch from Winnie to Anahuac replaced part of SH 125. On November 24, 1941, the section from Columbus to Houston was canceled and transferred to rerouted US 90. 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. On November 30, 1961, the route was shortened from Port Arthur to Winnie, with the western portions having been replaced by Interstate 10 (I-10).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 renumbered as SH 65. On July 29, 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 on July 18, 1924, from SH 73 in Fayetteville to Hempstead as a restoration of canceled SH 3C.[8] On March 19, 1930, this route was renumbered SH 159.
Beginning in 2021, TxDOT started construction on the interchange with US 69. The project will replace the old cloverleaf interchange with a new turbine interchange, while also widening the lanes on both SH 73 and US 69.[9] Construction is expected to last until late 2027.[10]
In popular culture
[edit]SH 73 in Texas 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.
Major intersections
[edit] | This section is missing mileposts for junctions. |
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambers | | 0.0 | 0.0 |   I-10 west / FM 1406 – Houston | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-10 exit 828 |
| | 0.4 | 0.64 |    SH 124 south / FM 1663 – Winnie, Galveston | West end of SH 124 concurrency | |
| | Broussard Road | Former eastbound exit only | |||
| | 1.8 | 2.9 | FM 1406 – Winnie | Eastbound exit only | |
| Jefferson | | 2.1 | 3.4 |  SH 124 north – Hamshire, Fannett | Interchange; east end of freeway; east end of SH 124 concurrency |
| Port Arthur | 24.4 | 39.3 |  Spur 93 north | ||
| 24.8 | 39.9 |  SH 82 south – Cameron | interchange; west end of freeway | ||
| 27.3 | 43.9 |  Spur 215 (Savannah Avenue) | |||
| 28.4 | 45.7 |  US 69 / US 96 / US 287 (Memorial Boulevard) – Beaumont, Airport | |||
| 29.1 | 46.8 | 9th Avenue | |||
| 30.1 | 48.4 |  SH 347 – Nederland | |||
| Groves | 30.7 | 49.4 | 39th Street – Groves | no direct westbound exit (signed at 32nd Street) | |
| 31.2 | 50.2 | 32nd Street / Main Avenue | |||
| 31.8 | 51.2 | 25th Street – Groves | |||
| Port Arthur | 32.8 | 52.8 |  SH 87 south – Port Arthur | West end of SH 87 concurrency; no direct eastbound exit (signed at 25th Street) | |
| 32.9 | 52.9 | Taft Avenue / Procter Street | |||
| 33.6 | 54.1 |  FM 366 – Groves, Port Neches | interchange; east end of freeway; no direct eastbound exit (signed at Taft Avenue / Procter Street) | ||
| Neches River | 35.1– 37.0 | 56.5– 59.5 | Veterans Memorial Bridge (eastbound) / Rainbow Bridge (westbound) | ||
| Orange | Bridge City | 40.4 | 65.0 |  FM 1442 north | |
| | 41.5– 41.7 | 66.8– 67.1 | Cow Bayou Swing Bridge over Cow Bayou | ||
| | 42.1 | 67.8 |   SH 87 north / SH 62 begins | East end of SH 87 concurrency; west end of SH 62 concurrency | |
| Orange | 44.2 | 71.1 |  FM 105 – Orangefield, Orange | ||
| 46.7 | 75.2 | I-10 (US 90) / SH 62 north – Beaumont, Lake Charles | I-10 exit 873; east end of SH 62 overlap | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
Notes
[edit]- ^ The certified mileage given is shorter than the actual mileage as TxDOT considers SH 73 to be discontinuous at rather than concurrent with SH 62.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 73". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ Myers, Ryan (September 21, 2008). "Demolition team works to clear barges from Texas 73". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. August 21, 1923. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. October 24, 1932. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. November 28, 1932. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. July 15, 1935. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. May 18, 1936. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Minutes" (PDF). publicdocs.txdot.gov. Texas Department of Transportation. July 28, 1924. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "US 69/SH 73 Interchange". Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ Brent, Kim (August 3, 2024). "Tracking the progress on TxDOT's Turbine Project". The Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Texas State Highway 73 at Wikimedia Commons
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