WESTHEIMER WILL HENCEFORTH NOT BE CALLED UR 1093 ANYMORE, SAYS TXDOT 
Before last week, TxDOT had an obscure formal name for Westheimer Rd. on the books: UR 1093. The designation — short for “urban road” — was created 23 years ago to distinguish city thoroughfares from farm to market roads, reports the Chronicle‘s Dug Begley. But “No signs were ever erected,” he writes, “and it became clear no one was going to stop calling the roads what they always had, officials said in a written briefing for transportation commissioners. The only place the urban roads ever appeared was in the internal TxDOT roadway inventory.” There, Begley counts 30 Houston-area roads that were set to set to become URs “in theory, at least.” Officials killed the designation on November 15, reinstating Westheimer’s previous pseudonym FM 1093. The only thing that really changes: where funding for those roads can come from. Had the UR designation stuck, says a TxDOT spokeswoman, they would’ve been eligible for some extra federal maintenance money aimed at cities. [Houston Chronicle ($)] Photo of Westheimer Rd. at El Real Tex-Mex Cafe west of Yoakum Blvd.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
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Re: Houston’s URs (Urban Roads)
Just TxDOT and the Republican led TX Legislature punishing by cutting additional road money in Houston for voting Democratic. Who would have expected them to be so petty?
henceforth=anymore=redundancy
(I know – nobody loves a smartass)
If they’re keeping the FM 1093 designation then it may still remain the only smooth road in the city. I’m far from a fan of TxDOT but the difference between Westheimer and Richmond west of 610 is shocking. Proof that yes you can keep a street smooth as glass in Houston if only you maintain it (looking at you Turner, Parker, White, etc)
Is this real? TXDot can really be petty sometimes.
Since they want to do this, the city of Houston should find a way to keep a higher % of property taxes because 25% is not enough.
If UR roads get more money than FM roads then lets get as many changed to UR as possible. Why is this even a problem? Anyone living in Houston will continue to call it Westheimer anyway.
FM 1960 was “de-named” from UR 1960 years ago. My guess is that internally, keeping the UR name screws up filing systems (have to maintain separate files from FMs, etc.), rather than any sort of political agenda.
Cynic–paranoia is treatable.
TxDOT owns and maintains Westheimer outside Loop 610. It is officially FM 1093, but signage is sparse until you go further west. The City of Houston owns and maintains Westheimer inside Loop 610. Either entity can spend as much or as little money on any particular road as they see fit, in response to whatever political pressure they choose to listen to (from officials or the public). None of those things have changed.
Just a point of information, the Texas Legislature has not been in session for almost two years, therefore it is functionally impossible for that entity to have had any input into the recent actions of an independent state agency like TXDOT