Texas State Highway 153

State Highway 153 (SH 153) is a highway in the U.S. State of Texas that runs from Coleman northwest to a junction south of Sweetwater.

State Highway 153
SH 153 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	70.89 mi[1] (114.09 km)
Existed	1988–present
Major junctions
South end	US 84 / US 283 in Coleman
Major intersections	US 83 in Winters US 277 near Wingate
North end	SH 70 south of Sweetwater
Location
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Coleman, Runnels, Taylor, Nolan
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Former Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec
← SH 152 → SH 154

History

SH 153 was originally designated on March 19, 1930 along a route from Valley Mills to Temple as a renumbering of SH 36A. This route was rerouted so that its south end was at Belton later. This route was cancelled on June 15, 1935.^[2] The road was restored on October 22, 1935, but as a lateral road, which the section south of McGregor became SH 317 on May 23, 1939, and the remainder became FM 56 on May 19, 1942 (this section became part of SH 317 in 1947).^[3] The current route was designated on May 16, 1988, replacing FM 53.^[1][4]

The section of SH 153 between Winters and SH 70 has seen an increase in traffic due to Google Maps recommending drivers traveling from the South Plains (Lubbock) or Panhandle (Amarillo) regions to cities such as Austin or San Antonio use the highway. Additionally, the highway is only two lanes, features many s-curves, is narrow in many places with no shoulders, and many sections have no passing zones.^[5] A fatal head-on collision occurred on the highway between Winters and Wingate on June 14, 2021 that left three people dead.^[6] Due to the increase of both traffic and wrecks on SH 153, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced that the speed limit would be reduced from 75 MPH to 65 in Taylor and Nolan counties on June 19, 2021.^[7]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Coleman	Coleman	0.0	0.0	US 84 / US 283	Southern terminus
		0.9	1.4	SH 206 south (Commercial Avenue)	South end of SH 206 overlap
		1.2	1.9	SH 206 north (Neches Street)	North end of SH 206 overlap
	​	8.0	12.9	FM 503 – Valera, Voss
	Glen Cove	14.2	22.9	FM 2805 south / County Road 448
Runnels	​	19.6	31.5	FM 2132 south – Talpa
	​	24.2	38.9	FM 382 – Lawn, Ballinger
	​	31.0	49.9	FM 2647 – Ballinger
	​	34.4	55.4	Loop 438 west
	Winters	35.5	57.1	US 83 – Ballinger, Abilene
	​	38.0	61.2	Loop 438 east
	​	39.1	62.9	FM 1677 north – Pumphrey
	​	41.3	66.5	FM 384 west / FM 2111 south – Bronte, Ballinger
	Wingate	47.4	76.3	FM 383 south – Wilmeth
	​	48.8	78.5	FM 2595 east – Drasco
Taylor	​	51.8	83.4	US 277 – Abilene, San Angelo	Interchange
Nolan	​	55.7	89.6	FM 1170 west – Hylton, Blackwell
	​	66.4	106.9	FM 126 east – Nolan, Merkel
	​	70.9	114.1	SH 70 – San Angelo, Sweetwater	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi