Texas State Highway 21 Explained

State:TX
Type:SH
Route:21
Map Custom:yes
Length Mi:312.50
Length Round:1
Established:April 4, 1917
Direction A:West
Direction B:East
Terminus A: at San Marcos
Junction:
Terminus B: near Milam
Counties:Hays, Caldwell, Bastrop, Lee, Burleson, Brazos, Madison, Houston, Cherokee, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, Sabine
Previous Type:SH
Previous Route:20
Next Type:SH
Next Route:22

State Highway 21 (SH 21) runs from the Texas-Louisiana boundary east of San Augustine to San Marcos in east and central Texas. SH 21 mostly follows the alignment of the Old San Antonio Road and the El Camino Real, except for the portion between Midway and Bryan, where the Old San Antonio Road took a more northerly route, and SH 21 follows a more direct route. That section of the Old San Antonio Road is served by Texas State Highway OSR.

History

SH 21 was one of the original 25 routes proposed in Texas on June 21, 1917, along a route from the Louisiana state line east of St. Augustine to Gonzales, overlaid on top of the Gonzales-St. Augustine Highway.[1] There was proposed extension southward to Karnes City on February 18, 1918.[2] On July 16, 1923, the terminus was shortened to Giddings, with the section south of there being cancelled.[3] A spur, SH 21 Spur, was designated on March 19, 1930, from Milam to Hemphill. On August 1, 1930, this spur became part of SH 87. On September 29, 1933, SH 21 was extended to Lockhart. On July 15, 1935, the section from Giddings to Lockhart was cancelled, and SH 21 was rerouted though Lincoln, replacing part of SH OSR, and followed SH 44 to Giddings.[4] On October 21, 1936, SH 21 Spur to Chireno was added.[5] On May 18, 1937, the spur in Chireno became a loop, SH 21 Loop.[6] On February 21, 1938, another SH 21 Spur to McMahan's Chapel was added.[7] On April 19, 1938, the section of SH 21 from Lincoln to Giddings was cancelled, and SH 21 was extended to Bastrop, replacing part of SH OSR. On September 26, 1939, the section from Paige to Bastrop was cancelled, as it was already part of US 290. The spur and loop became Loop 34 (Chireno) and Spur 35 (McMahan's Chapel). On August 2, 1943, the western terminus had been extended to end in San Marcos, along its current route, replacing part of SH OSR.On June 24, 2010, the SH 21 designation was extended along SH 80 and SH 142 to end at I-35.[8]

Business routes

SH 21 has two business routes.

Kurten business route

State:TX
Type:TX-Bus
Route:21-H
Location:Kurten
Formed:2002
Length Mi:1.362

Business State Highway 21-H (Bus. SH 21-H) is a 1.3623NaN3 long business route that runs through Kurten in central Texas. The route was formed from an old section of SH 21 on February 28, 2002, when SH 21 proper was moved onto a new bypass around Kurten.

Nacogdoches business route

State:TX
Type:TX-Bus
Route:21-P
Location:Nacogdoches
Formed:2018
Length Mi:4.170
Length Ref:[9]

Business State Highway 21-P (Bus. SH 21-P) is a 4.173NaN3 long business route that runs through Nacogdoches in eastern Texas.[9] The route was formed from an old section of SH 21, when the main highway was re-routed onto Loop 224 and US 59 on October 25, 2018.

Major intersections

Notes and References

  1. Web site: October 23, 2017 . June 21, 1917 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171023012049/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676699.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  2. Web site: October 23, 2017 . February 18, 1918 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171023121042/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676752.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  3. Web site: October 27, 2017 . July 16, 1923 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171027125814/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676877.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  4. Web site: October 20, 2017 . July 15, 1935 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171020091156/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003673871.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  5. Web site: February 18, 2018 . October 19, 1936 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180218152028/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003673892.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  6. Web site: February 19, 2018 . May 17, 1937 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180219091948/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003673898.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  7. Web site: October 21, 2017 . February 21, 1938 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171021063107/https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003676241.pdf . Minutes . publicdocs.txdot.gov . . 30 April 2023 . en-us . live .
  8. Web site: Texas Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes, June 24, 2010. Texas Transportation Commission. 226–227. August 30, 2013.
  9. Web site: Texas Department of Transportation . Texas Department of Transportation . Statewide Planning Map LRS Readout (ArcGIS) . 2022 . July 29, 2022.