Farm to Market Road 734

Farm to Market Road 734
Parmer Lane
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Route information
Length	19.284 mi[1] (31.035 km)
Existed	orig. 1947 curr. 1978[1]–present
Major junctions
South end	US 290 in Austin
	SH 130 Toll I-35 Loop 1
North end	RM 1431 in Cedar Park
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← FM 733 → FM 735

Farm to Market Road 734 (FM 734) is a 19.3-mile (31.1 km) divided roadway located in Travis and Williamson counties of Texas.^[1] For most of its length, FM 734 is located just within the northern city limits of Austin, with portions located in Cedar Park, Leander, and unincorporated areas. The roadway is named Parmer Lane for the entire length of FM 734.

History[]

Beginning on November 18, 1947, FM 734 referred to a highway from Brady through Voca east to the Mason County line. On October 29, 1948, FM 734 was extended east to FM 386, now RM 386. On May 28, 1952, the designation was extended to SH 29 near Llano over a portion of RM 386. On May 22, 1958, the route was rerouted in Voca, shortening its length by 0.1 miles. On April 30, 1959, the western terminus was relocated south south to 2.7 miles south of Brady, The former route was renumbered FM 2309. The road designation changed to Ranch to Market Road 734 in on March 16, 1961 and was rerouted south to 2.7 miles south of Brady. The designation was removed on September 1, 1965 when that highway was added to SH 71, but signage did not change until January 1, 1955.

Parmer Lane between Loop 275 (Lamar Boulevard) and Loop 1 (Mopac Boulevard) was first designated as FM 734 on April 25, 1978. It extended north to RM 620 on April 23, 1981. The current termini of FM 734 were set on October 24, 1985, when the northern terminus was moved from RM 620 to RM 1431, and on May 16, 1988, when the southern terminus was moved from Loop 275 to US 290.^[1]

In 1997, FM 734 was improved east of I-35 to accommodate a new Samsung Electronics chip fabrication facility^{[citation needed]}. Other recent development along FM 734 include a Freescale Semiconductor office complex south of RM 620 in 1999, the Round Rock ISD Athletic Complex^[2] between RM 620 and RM 1431 in 2003 and the Tech Ridge shopping center^[3] at I-35 in 2003.

Route description[]

The southern terminus of FM 734 is at US 290, just west of Manor in Travis county. From there, it travels northwest to intersect with Interstate 35, continues to Loop 1, crosses SH-45 (and RM 620) in Northwest Austin, then proceeds north to its northern terminus at RM 1431 in Cedar Park.

The same roadway continues beyond RM 1431 as ,^[4] which travels northward into Leander, before curving eastward back to I-35^[5] within the southern city limits of Jarrell.

For most of its length, FM 734 is a six-lane divided roadway. West of Loop 1, the road has wide shoulders and is relatively lightly developed, making it attractive as a bicycling route. However, FM 734 does carry a high traffic load during rush hours, especially at Loop 1 and I-35.^{[citation needed]} FM 734 is primarily a four-lane road between US 290 and Yager Lane, east of I-35.

As of June 27, 1995, FM 734 is officially designated an Urban Road (UR 734).^[1] However, as with most other Urban Roads in Texas, no signage changes have been made.

Junction list[]

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Travis	Austin	0.0	0.0	Parmer Lane (south) US 290 / 290 Toll Road (west–east)	Interchange
	​	0.9	1.4	SH 130 Toll	Interchange
	Austin	7.5	12.1	I-35	Interchange
		7.8	12.6	Loop 275 (Lamar Blvd)	Intersection
		9.6	15.4	Loop 1 (Mopac Expressway)	Interchange
Williamson		15.1	24.3	SH 45 Toll / RM 620	Interchange
	Cedar Park	19.3	31.1	RM 1431 (Whitestone Blvd) (west–east) Ronald W. Reagan Blvd (north)	Continuous-flow intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References[]