Farm to Market Road 171

Farm to Market Road 171
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	37.212 mi[1][lower-alpha 1] (59.887 km)
Existed:	1945 – present
Major junctions
West end:	Bus. US 287 in Wichita Falls
	SH 240 in Wichita Falls SH 79 in Byers
East end:	FM 2332
Location
Counties:	Wichita, Clay
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← FM 170 FM 172 →

Farm to Market Road 171 (FM 171) is a farm to market road in Wichita and Clay counties, Texas.^[1]

Route description

FM 171 begins in Wichita Falls at an intersection with Bus. US 287 north of the Wichita River.^[2] The route travels east on Lincoln Street to SH 240. These two routes are concurrent northbound along King Boulevard before FM 171 turns back to the northeast along Jefferson Street. In the outskirts of Wichita Falls, FM 171 intersects FM 1740 and then FM 890, which provides access to Sheppard AFB. From here, the roadway is known as the Upper Charlie Road (as opposed to FM 1740, referred to as Lower Charlie Road or simply Charlie Road). The route crosses the Wichita–Clay county line and meanders through the farming areas of Clay County. It intersects FM 1177 and then FM 2393 near Thornberry.^[3] The highway turns to the east, crossing FM 810 south of the community of Charlie. FM 171 then enters Byers, where it has a brief concurrency with SH 79 through downtown, before it resumes its journey eastward. The roadway then turns southward, roughly paralleling the Red River and the Oklahoma state line, before FM 171 reaches its eastern terminus at FM 2332.^[2]

FM 171's roadway is generally two-lane and shoulderless, except for the section in the Wichita Falls metropolitan area (from its western terminus to its junction with FM 890) and during its concurrency with SH 79 in Byers.

History

FM 171 was first commissioned in Clay County on June 11, 1945. Its original designation was from Byers across SH 148 south of Charlie to Wichita Falls. (SH 148 north of Petrolia would become FM 810 in 1948.^[4])The designation was extended eastward to 2 miles east of Byers on October 31, 1957. On November 7, 1958, US 287 was rerouted in downtown Wichita Falls, and the FM 171 designation was extended along Lincoln Street to its current western terminus. The eastern terminus was extended to the south, first to a county road on May 2, 1962, and then to its current location at FM 2332 on June 1, 1965.^[1]

On June 27, 1995, the mileage in the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, from the eastern terminus at US 287 Bus. to the intersection with FM 890, was transferred to Urban Road 171 (UR 171). As with other highways with the urban road designation, TxDOT continues to sign the route using the standard Farm to Market Road marker.^[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Wichita	Wichita Falls	0.0	0.0	Bus. US 287 (Scott St.)	Western terminus
		0.3	0.48	SH 240 east (King Blvd.)	West end of SH 240 concurrency
		0.5	0.80	SH 240 west (King Blvd.)	East end of SH 240 concurrency
	​	1.9	3.1	FM 1740
	​	2.9	4.7	FM 890 (E. McKinley St.)
Clay	​	11.9	19.2	FM 1177 – Cashion
	​	12.9	20.8	FM 2393 – Dean, Jolly
	​	19.1	30.7	FM 810 – Petrolia, Charlie
	Byers	27.3	43.9	SH 79 north (Main St.) – Waurika, Oklahoma	West end of SH 79 concurrency
		27.5	44.3	SH 79 south (Main St.) – Petrolia	East end of SH 79 concurrency
	​	37.6	60.5	FM 2332 – Stanfield	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Notes

References