Ranch to Market Road 243, Ranch Road 243, or RM 243, is a Ranch to Market Road in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas. Its stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state...

. The road, first designated in 1945, is located in Burnet

Burnet County, Texas

Burnet County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 34,147. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate was 44,488. Its county seat is Burnet. Burnet is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first president of the Republic of Texas...

 and Williamson

Williamson County, Texas

Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...

 counties in the Texas Hill Country

Texas Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...

 and passes through the city of Bertram

Bertram, Texas

Bertram is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,122 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bertram is located at . This is 10 miles east of Burnet and 37 miles northwest of Austin....

 and the smaller communities of Oatmeal

Oatmeal, Texas

Oatmeal is an unincorporated community in Burnet County, Texas, United States. It is situated along RM 243, approximately eight miles southeast of Burnet and 56 miles northwest of Austin.-History:...

 and Mahomet. The nearly 21 miles (34 km) road has major intersections with RM 1174 and at its termini and has short concurrencies

Concurrency (road)

A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 with and again with RM 1174 in Bertram. RM 243 passes through a portion of a national wildlife refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

 and crosses two forks of the San Gabriel River

San Gabriel River (Texas)

The San Gabriel River is a river that flows through central Texas. The San Gabriel River is formed in Georgetown, Texas by the confluence of the North Fork San Gabriel and the South Fork San Gabriel, both of which originate in Burnet County. There are two major impoundments of the river: Lake...

.

History

RM 243 was originally designated in 1945 as Farm to Market Road 243, a 13.8 miles (22.2 km) from SH 29 in Bertram to a location TxDOT identifies as Green's Corner at the road's eastern terminus. In 1949, the road was extended 5.7 miles (9.2 km) to Oatmeal. US 183 was rerouted eastward south of Albany

Albany, Texas

Albany is a city in Shackelford County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Shackelford County.-History:...

 along a new route that includes the present section between Briggs and Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 at the Green's Corner terminus. In 1957, RM 243 received its current Ranch to Market designation and was extended 2.6 miles (4.2 km) to RM 1174 which was also extended southward from Bertram the same year.

Route description

RM 243 begins at RM 1174 in Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

Balcones Canyonlands is a National Wildlife Refuge located in the Texas Hill Country to the northwest of Austin, Texas. The Refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds including the Golden-cheeked Warbler and the Black-capped Vireo and to preserve Texas Hill Country...

 in Burnet County. The road proceeds northward passing through Oatmeal before crossing the South Fork of the San Gabriel River, then turns to the northeast toward Bertram. In Bertram, RM 243 joins SH 29 to the southeast until turning back to the northeast along N. Grave St. joining RM 1174. On the north edge of town, RM 1174 separates to the north, then RM 243 leaves town to the northeast and crosses the North Fork of the San Gabriel River. The road then passes through Mahomet before it terminates immediately after crossing into Williamson County at US 183 between Liberty Hill and Biggs.

Major intersections