Farm to Market Road 78

Farm to Market Road 78
Route information
Length:	30.205 mi[1] (48.610 km)
Existed:	1943[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-35 in San Antonio
	I-410 in San Antonio Loop 1604 in Universal City SH 218 in Universal City SH 46 in Seguin I-10 in Seguin
East end:	US 90 in Seguin
Location
Counties:	Bexar, Guadalupe
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← FM 77 FM 80 →

Farm to Market Road 78 (FM 78) is a 30.205 mi (48.610 km) farm-to-market road connecting San Antonio and Seguin, Texas.

Route description

The western terminus of FM 78 is in Bexar County, near Fort Sam Houston and the southern end of the concurrency of Interstates 35 and 410 in San Antonio.^[1] Access to FM 78 is available from IH 35 Exit #162 and from IH 410 Exit #31A (southbound) and #32 (northbound). Heading in a northeasterly direction, the route briefly enters Kirby before reentering San Antonio. FM 78 crosses into Converse and then Universal City, where it has a junction with Loop 1604. Outside of the loop, the route borders the north edge of Randolph Air Force Base.^[1][2] FM 78 then enters Guadalupe County and passes through Schertz, Cibolo, Santa Clara, Marion, and McQueeney. The highway then crosses the Guadalupe River and enters the city of Seguin. It has a junction with IH 10 at Exit #607, an interchange it shares with SH 46. FM 78 continues eastward into Seguin along West New Braunfels Street and then southward on 8th Street before reaching its terminus at US 90.^[1][3]

FM 78 provides a connection (in conjunction with IH 35) between central San Antonio and Randolph Air Force Base. It also provides an alternate route (versus IH 10 and Loop 1604) between Seguin and portions of the northeastern San Antonio metropolitan area. Between San Antonio and Cibolo, FM 78 is a four-lane road, dropping to a two-lane road until McQueeney, before becoming a four-lane divided route to IH 10/SH 46.

History

Present-day FM 78 is part of what was the much longer original SH 3 designated in 1917. Most of this route was usurped by US 90 during the mass redescription of the state's highway system in 1939, while FM 78 was designated in 1943 over the portion of SH 3 which ran from FM 25 (now part of SH 46) in western Seguin to SH 218 at what was then known as Randolph Field.^[1][4] In 1947, the western terminus was extended to Loop 13 (the northern section of which would become IH 410 in the Interstate era), and the extension to IH 35 occurred in 1977. The route was extended eastward into Seguin along New Braunfels and 8th Streets to its current terminus at US 90 in 1979.^[1]

In 1995, the mileage of the section from IH 35 to FM 3009 in Schertz was officially transferred to Urban Road 78 (UR 78); however, as with other urban roads, TxDOT continues to sign the route with the "Farm Road" shield.^[5]

An older segment of FM 78 became Loop 539 in 1996, when the alignment of FM 78 in southern Cibolo was shifted to the south.^[1]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Bexar	San Antonio	0.00	0.00	I-35 to I-410 north (Connally Loop) – Austin, Downtown San Antonio	Western terminus
		0.50	0.80	I-410 south (Connally Loop) to Loop 13 (W. W. White Rd)
	Converse	7.40	11.91	FM 1516
		8.60	13.84	FM 3502
	Universal City	9.20	14.81	Loop 1604 (Anderson Loop)
		10.40	16.74	SH 218 (Pat Booker Road) – Randolph Air Force Base
		11.30	18.19	FM 1518 south – St. Hedwig
Guadalupe	Schertz	12.00	19.31	FM 1518 north
		12.70	20.44	FM 3009 (Roy Richard Drive)
	Cibolo	13.60	21.89	FM 1103
		14.10	22.69	Loop 539	Former alignment of FM 78
		14.90	23.98	Loop 539	Former alignment of FM 78
	Marion	19.70	31.70	FM 465
		22.70	36.53	FM 1044 – New Braunfels
	McQueeney	25.90	41.68	FM 725 south	Western terminus of concurrency with FM 725
		26.10	42.00	FM 725 north – New Braunfels, Lake McQueeney	Eastern temrinus of concurrency with FM 725
	Seguin	27.00	43.45	FM 1620
		28.60	46.03	SH 46 south to I-10
		28.80	46.35	SH 46 north – New Braunfels
		30.21	48.62	US 90	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "Farm to Market Road No. 78". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
2. Texas Department of Transportation. "Texas County Map Book 2010" (PDF). p. 404. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
3. Texas Department of Transportation. "Texas County Map Book 2010" (PDF). p. 434. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
4. Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "Farm to Market Road No. 25". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
5. Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "Urban Road No. 78". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
6. Google (2011-01-04). "Overview map of Farm to Market Road 78 Distances Between Interchanges" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2011-01-04.