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San Antonio Area Freeway System
State Highway 151
(Raymond E. Stotzer Jr. Freeway)

This page last updated February 6, 2024

SH 151 highlight map
SH 151 highlight map

This page covers Texas State Highway (SH) 151 from US‑90 to Loop 1604 in western San Antonio.

Length: 10 miles



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On this page:

Overview Roadway
details
Lanes Access
roads
       
Exits Speed
limits
Special features
and notes
Traffic
       
Media
gallery
Construction
projects
Future
plans
History
       

Overview

SH 151 connects rapidly-growing far western Bexar County to Loop 410 and to downtown via US‑90. It is the main corridor through the Westover Hills area, which includes Sea World of Texas, the Hyatt Hill Country Resort, several major financial services companies, a National Security Agency campus, multiple large data centers, and Northwest Vista College. This route also serves the Southwest Research Institute and Texas Biomedical Research Institute. At the western end of the corridor is the sprawling Alamo Ranch development. Residential and commercial construction is booming in the corridor with major retail hubs at Loop 410 and Loop 1604.

Inside Loop 410, the majority of the land fronting the corridor is undeveloped, although the area near US‑90 has seen growing light to moderate industrial development, primarily warehouses. Outside of 410, much of the frontage is now a mix of suburban commercial and residential.


Roadway details

LANES
  • 4 lanes along entire route
 
ACCESS ROADS
  • Continuous access roads along entire route. These access roads originally served as the highway before the construction of the freeway mainlanes.
 
EXITS

Click here for a list of SH 151 exits.
 
 
SPEED LIMITS
  • 65 mph along entire route
 
SPECIAL FEATURES AND NOTES
SH 151 special features map
  • TransGuide coverage along entire route
  • Partial directional interchanges at the following locations:
    • US‑90 — full connectivity is provided by access roads
    • Loop 410 — full connectivity is provided by access roads
    • Loop 1604 — access roads provide connectivity from SH 151 to Loop 1604 northbound and from northbound Loop 1604 to SH 151, while a signalized left turn and ramp provides access from SH 151 to southbound Loop 1604
SH 151 special features map
   
TRAFFIC
SH 151 traffic map

Generally moderate. Traffic counts have increased substantially over the past decade, and have more than quadrupled in some locations over the past two decades, with the location just inside Loop 1604 up over 700% since 2001. The opening of the Loop 410 connectors resulted in a significant bump in traffic counts.

Daily recurring congestion occurs eastbound between Westover Hills Blvd. and Potranco Rd. during the morning rush hour, and westbound from Military Dr. West (west of Hunt Ln.) to Loop 1604 and on the overpass to Alamo Ranch Pkwy.


Traffic volume legend
SH 151 traffic map
   
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC
LOCATION 2002 2012 2017 2019 2021 2022 '12-'22
% CHG
N of US‑90 36,000 60,000 73,640 86,656 84,625 75,946 +26.58%
E of Callaghan Rd.         79,202 72,917 N/A
E of Loop 410 21,000 65,000 71,659 82,678 79,979 74,005 +13.85%
E of Potranco Rd. 40,000 95,000 109,928 120,807 127,629 140,491 +47.89%
W of Potranco Rd. 31,000 85,000         N/A
W of Hunt Ln.   78,000 93,988 105,118 106,950 114,247 +46.47%
E of Loop 1604 11,300 45,000 60,521 67,705 79,091 83,472 +85.49%

(NOTE: In 2021, TxDOT changed the location of several traffic counting stations. New stations will show no history prior to 2021.)



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Media gallery

Click here for historical photos of this freeway.

Click here for video of this freeway.


Construction projects

Click here to view information for all projects in this corridor.


Future plans

A plan to to extend SH 151 all the way to SH 211 in far western Bexar County was once envisioned as part of the now-cancelled regional tollway system. However, regional thoroughfare plans do still show Alamo Ranch Parkway — which is a county road — eventually connecting to SH 211, although there are currently no plans to extend SH 151 itself over that route.

A future project will add the remaining flyovers at Loop 410, but there is currently no timeline for that.

A study is underway for possibly long-term improvements to Loop 1604 that could include additional direct connectors in the 151/1604 interchange.


History

SH 151 is authorized by Minute Order 81732 (March 14, 1984). The route is named for Raymond Stotzer Jr., a longtime TxDOT engineer and the head of the San Antonio TxDOT district from 1974 to 1986 who was instrumental in getting the route approved. It originally had the moniker "West Side Expressway." When it was first proposed, some maps mistakenly labeled the route as the "Northwest Expressway", but at the time, I‑10 northwest of downtown officially held that name. (I‑10 was subsequently renamed the "McDermott Freeway" in the mid '90s.)

Like many freeways in Texas, the access roads were built first, then the mainlanes followed as traffic necessitated. On SH 151, the mainlanes were built in piecemeal fashion as traffic warranted and funding was available with short sections of freeway and overpasses at major intersections first, followed finally by the remainder of the mainlanes.

SH 151 history map
SH 151 history map
SH 151 at Wiseman Blvd. looking southeast in 2001

SH 151 at Wiseman Blvd. looking southeast in 2001
The overpasses for the thoroughfares near SeaWorld were built over the future mainlanes in conjunction with the original construction of the frontage roads.
(Photo by Brian Purcell)

SH 151 at Military Dr. looking northwest in 1987

SH 151 at Military Dr. looking northwest in 1987
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

SH 151 near Callaghan Rd. looking southeast in 2001

SH 151 near Callaghan Rd. looking southeast in 2001
This shows where the frontage road entered a completed section of freeway mainlanes.
(Photo by Brian Purcell)

More historical photos of SH 151 are available here.