Texas State Highway 97

State Highway 97
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	143.75 mi (231.34 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
Southwest end:	I-35 BUS at Cotulla
	US 281 I-37 US 181 US 87 US 183 Alt. US 90 I-10
Northeast end:	US 90 at Waelder
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate • US • TX (Loops – Spurs – Rec – FM) ← SH 96 SH 98 →

Texas Highway 97 in Jourdanton, the seat of Atascosa County, with the county annex building on the right

State Highway 97 or SH 97 is a state highway running 143 miles (230 km) from Cotulla to Waelder in the U.S. state of Texas.

History

In 1926, SH 97 was originally planned as a route from Rio Grande City via Hebbronville and Tilden to end at Pleasanton, By 1933, SH 97 was split into 2 sections, one from Rio Grande City to Hebbronville, and from Fowlerton to Pleasanton, with the possibility of these section being connected in the future. Because of the isolation of the southern stretch, that portion went unconstructed. The northern branch was slowly constructed, initially between Stockdale and Fowlerton by 1939. In 1942, a section of decommissioned SH 72 between Fowlerton and Cotulla was added. It was extended to its current terminus in Waelder in 1952, replacing the western portions of SH 200 and SH 3.

Counties and junctions

County	Junction	Notes
La Salle	I-35 BUS – Cotulla
McMullen	SH 72
Atascosa	SH 85 – Charlotte
	SH 16 – Jourdanton
	US 281 – Pleasanton
	I-37 – Pleasanton
Wilson	US 181 – Floresville
	US 87
	SH 123 – Stockdale
	SH 119 – Stockdale
Gonzales	SH 80 – Nixon
	US 183/SH 111 – Gonzales
	Alt. US 90 – Gonzales
	SH 304
	I-10 – Waelder
	US 90 at Waelder