Texas State Highway 73

State Highway 73
State Highway 73
Route information
	Maintained by TxDOT
Length	42.02 mi (67.62 km)
Existed	1941–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
	Highways in Texas; Interstate; US; State; Toll; Loops; Spurs; FM/RM; Park; Rec;

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 almost 10 miles (16 km) before they came to rest on the highway.^[2]

History

Previous routes

The original SH 73 was designated in 1926 from Oldenburg to Houston. By 1933, it was rerouted southwest to Columbus, white a portion of the old route being transferred to SH 159. By 1941, the route was adjusted so that, instead of extending west from Houston, it was now designated east from Houston to Port Arthur. This was previously SH 228. 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. In 1961, the route was shortened from Port Arthur to Winnie, with the western portions having been replaced by Interstate 10 (I-10).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 transferred to SH 65. In 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 in 1927 from SH 73 in Fayetteville to Hempstead as a replacement for SH 3C. By 1931, this route was renumbered as SH 159.

In popular culture

SH 73 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

County	Location	Destinations	Notes
Chambers		I-10 west / FM 1406 – Houston	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-10 exit 828
		SH 124 south / FM 1663 – Winnie, Galveston	West end of SH 124 concurrency
		Broussard Road	eastbound exit only
Chambers–Jefferson county line		FM 1406	at-grade intersection; east end of freeway
Jefferson		SH 124 north – Beaumont, Fannett, Hamshire	East end of SH 124 concurrency
	Port Arthur	Spur 93 north – Beaumont
		SH 82 south – Cameron	interchange; west end of freeway
		Spur 215 (Savannah Avenue)
		US 69 / US 96 / US 287 (Memorial Boulevard) – Beaumont, Airport
		9th Avenue
		SH 347 – Nederland
	Groves	39th Street - Groves	no direct westbound exit (signed at 32nd Street)
		32nd Street / Main Avenue
		25th Street - Groves
	Port Arthur	SH 87 south – Port Arthur	West end of SH 87 concurrency; no direct eastbound exit (signed at 25th Street)
		Taft Avenue / Procter Street
		FM 366 – Groves, Port Neches	interchange; east end of freeway; no direct eastbound exit (signed at Taft Avenue / Procter Street)
Neches River		Veterans Memorial Bridge / Rainbow Bridge
Orange	Bridge City	FM 1442 north
		Cow Bayou Swing Bridge over Cow Bayou
		SH 87 north	East end of SH 87 concurrency; west end of SH 62 concurrency
	Orange	FM 105 – Orangefield, Orange
	Orange	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