[3][4] It continues to skirt the eastern city limits of Austin, crossing the SH 130 toll road before entering Manor, where it intersects US 290.

It was extended southward into Travis County on May 23, 1951, to an intersection with the former SH 20 (present-day US 290) in Manor, replacing FM 1326.

Two further extensions, to FM 812 on September 20, 1961 and US 183 on June 12, 1968, brought the route's southern terminus to its current location.

OPn April 30, 1987 the northern terminus in Taylor was shifted to a point along US 79; this change took effect in 1992, when the new alignment was opened to traffic.

[9] In 2017, TxDOT began studying the possibility of rerouting and expanding FM 973 to bypass downtown Manor and eliminate its concurrency with US 290.