Ranch to Market Road 243 (RM 243) is a
Ranch to Market Road
In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better quality roads, usually ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
maintained by the
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The road, first designated in 1945, is located in
Burnet and
Williamson counties in the
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...
and passes through the city of
Bertram and the smaller communities of
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...
and
Mahomet. The nearly road has major intersections with
RM 1174 and
US 183 at its termini and has short
concurrencies with
SH 29 and again with RM 1174 in Bertram. RM 243 passes through a portion of a
national wildlife refuge
National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...
and crosses two forks of the
San Gabriel River.
History
RM 243 was originally designated on June 11, 1945, as Farm to Market Road 243 (FM 243), a from SH 29 in Bertram to a location TxDOT identifies as Green's Corner at the road's eastern terminus on what was then SH 74.
On July 14, 1949, the road was extended to Oatmeal.
US 183 was rerouted eastward south of
Albany along a new route that includes the present section between Briggs and
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
at the Green's Corner terminus.
On October 31, 1957, RM 243 received its current Ranch to Market designation and was extended to
RM 1174,
which was extended southward from Bertram at the same time.
Route description
RM 243 begins at RM 1174 in
Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
Balcones Canyonlands is a national wildlife refuge located in the Texas Hill Country to the northwest of Lago Vista, Texas. The refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds, the golden-cheeked warbler and the black ...
in Burnet County.
The road proceeds northward passing through Oatmeal before crossing the South Fork of the San Gabriel River, then turns to the northeast toward Bertram.
In Bertram, RM 243 joins SH 29 to the southeast until turning back to the northeast along N. Grave St. joining RM 1174.
On the north edge of town, RM 1174 separates to the north, then RM 243 leaves town to the northeast and crosses the North Fork of the San Gabriel River.
The road then passes through Mahomet before it terminates immediately after crossing into Williamson County at US 183 between Liberty Hill and Biggs.
Major intersections
References
{{reflist
0243
Transportation in Burnet County, Texas
Transportation in Williamson County, Texas