Texas State Highway Loop 1

State Highway Loop 1
Route information
Length:	25.698 mi[1] (41.357 km)
Existed:	1967 – present
Major junctions
South end:	SH 45
	US 290 SH 71 US 183
North end:	SH 45 Toll
Location
Counties:	Travis, Williamson
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs Park Rec FM ← Spur 1966 Loop 2 →

Loop 1 is a freeway which provides access to the west side of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. It is named Mopac Expressway (or, according to some highway signs, Mopac Boulevard) after the Missouri Pacific Railroad (or "MoPac"). Local residents will invariably use the name "MoPac" rather than calling the road by its number^[2][3] which can cause much confusion as few signs along the road use this name.^[4][5]

The original section of the highway was built in the 1970s along the right-of-way of the Missouri Pacific Railroad (now owned by Union Pacific), with the railroad tracks running in the highway median between West 8th Street and Northland Drive. To the north, the tracks run along the east side of newer sections of the highway from Northland Drive to Braker Lane.

History

Route designation

The first mention of Loop 1 came to public record in 1929. In 1944, the City of Austin Planning Commission (CMAC) proposed the highway be built in parts of under-utilized right of way owned by the MoPac railroad. Thus, the highway was eventually given the nickname "MoPac" for its proximity to the railroad. The number was originally used for Spur 1 designated by 1939 from US Highway 90 (US 90) to the Uvalde fish hatchery. This route was cancelled in 1943. In 1958, a new route was designated, also called Spur 1, from US 80A to I-10. This route became Loop 16 in 1964, which itself got cancelled in 1974 when it was transferred to rerouted US 62 and US 85. ^[1] Loop 1 was first designated in October 1967 from US 290 northward to Farm to Market Road 1325 (FM 1325). In October 1985, the designation was extended southward from US 290 to SH 45.^[1]

Expressway construction (1969 to 2006)

^[6]

^[7][8]

Route description

A stretch of Loop 1 in Austin. The Union Pacific railway is visible in the foreground.

Loop 1's southern terminus is at the beginning of the State Highway 45 stub south of Austin. It passes through the Circle C Ranch housing development and the Edwards Aquifer and intersects SH 71/US 290 (Ben White Boulevard) and Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway). It crosses the Colorado River near downtown Austin, then running parallel to the Balcones Fault and the Missouri-Pacific Railroad before intersects US 183 (Research Boulevard) northwest of downtown. Loop 1 travels concurrently with Farm to Market Road 1325 for several miles before the non-tolled freeway ends at Parmer Lane, spanning a distance of 22.061 miles (35.504 km).

North of Parmer Lane, Loop 1 continues as a limited-access toll road to the SH 45 North/Loop 1 interchange, spanning 3 miles (4.8 km). Frontage roads flank either side of the toll road to Shoreline Drive.

The Texas Department of Transportation completed construction of the tollway as part of the 2002 Central Texas Turnpike Project (CTTP). SH 45 North, also part of the project, provides freeway access to Interstate 35 from Loop 1. The 2002 CTTP was scheduled to be completed in September 2007. However, certain sections of the project, including Loop 1 opened early and more than $100 Million under budget.

If and when SH 45 is completed to the south of Austin, Loop 1 will effectively serve as a true loop to the west of the city, being directly connected to SH 45, and indirectly to I-35, at both ends.

Since 1994, TxDOT has proposed the addition of managed lanes to portions of Loop 1. The MoPac Improvement Project^[9] was relaunched in July 2010. In December 2010, four alternative proposals were presented to the public, each of which would add one or more lanes; the "no-build" alternative was also presented. The additions would not increase the right-of-way of the highway, but would be created by reducing the width of existing lanes and reducing and/or eliminating shoulders.

Exit list

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Travis	Austin			SH 45 west
				La Crosse Avenue
				Slaughter Lane	at-grade intersection; south end of freeway
				Davis Lane	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
				William Cannon Drive
				US 290 / SH 71 / Southwest Parkway – Johnson City, Llano, Sunset Valley
				Frontage Road	Southbound exit only
				Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway)
				Barton Skyway
				RM 2244 – Rollingwood, West Lake Hills
				Cesar Chavez Street / 5th Street / Lake Austin Boulevard
				Enfield Road
				Windsor Road
				Westover Road / Northwood Road
				35th Street - Camp Mabry	Access to Seton Main Hospital
				45th Street
				RM 2222 (Northland Drive)
				Far West Boulevard
				Anderson Lane / Spicewood Springs Road	no direct southbound exit (signed at Steck Avenue)
				Steck Avenue
				(no name)	northbound exit only
				US 183 (Research Boulevard)	no direct southbound exit to US 183 north (signed at Capital of Texas Highway), access to Seton Northwest Hospital
				Capital of Texas Highway
				Braker Lane	no direct northbound exit (signed at Capital of Texas Highway)
				FM 1325 south (Burnet Road) / Duval Road	South end of FM 1325 overlap, access to North Austin Medical Center
				FM 734 (Parmer Lane)
				Scofield Ridge Parkway (FM 1325 north)	no direct southbound exit; north end of FM 1325 overlap
				FM 1325 / Wells Branch Parkway / Howard Lane
				toll plaza
Travis Williamson				Shoreline Drive	No southbound exit
Williamson				SH 45 Toll to I-35
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• Austin portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References