Texas State Highway Loop 1

State Highway 1 marker State Highway 1 toll marker

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

←

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]

From	To	Length (mi)	Length (km)	Year Project Began	Year of Project Completion	Notes
RM 2244 (Bee Cave Road)	RM 2222 (Northland Road)	5.4	8.7	February 1969	November 1975	Loop 1 project started with construction of the 45th Street Interchange in February 1969.
RM 2222	US 183	4.6	7.4	September 1977	June 1981	Northern terminus of Loop 1 completed, until July 1989 - with construction of the freeway extension to FM 734.
RM 2244	Loop 360	1.9	3.1	January 1979	March 1982	Southern terminus of Loop 1 completed, until October 1989 - with construction of the freeway extension to US 290.
Loop 360	US 290	1.6	2.6	October 1983	October 1989	Southern terminus of Loop 1 completed, until November 1990 - with construction of the roadway extension to Slaughter Lane.
US 183	FM 1325 (Burnet Road) and FM 734 (Parmer Lane)	3.7	6.0	January 1986	July 1989	Northern terminus of Loop 1 completed, until October 2006 - with construction of the SH 45 North/ Loop 1 Connector toll road. Stack interchange at US 183 is constructed - involved major freeway improvements between Steck Avenue and US 183, from March 1987 to June 1992.
US 290	Slaughter Lane	3.6	5.8	January 1988	November 1990	Southern terminus of Loop 1 completed, until July 1991 - with construction of the roadway extension to La Crosse Avenue.
Slaughter Lane	La Crosse Avenue	1.0	1.6	July 1989	July 1991	Southern terminus of Loop 1 completed, until May 1994 - with construction of the roadway extension to State Highway 45 .
La Crosse Avenue	SH 45	2.5	4.0	November 1989	May 1994	Southern terminus of Loop 1 completed.
FM 734	SH 45 North/ Loop 1 Interchange	4.0	6.4	February 2003	October 2006	Construction on the SH 45 North Interchange began in September 2003. Northern terminus of Loop 1 completed.

^[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	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)	Only one stack intersection travels from southbound Loop 1 to southbound Loop 360; all others are at-grade
		Barton Skyway
		RM 2244 (Bee Caves Road) / Wallingwood Drive – 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 county line		Shoreline Drive	No southbound exit
Williamson	Cedar Park–Round Rock city line	SH 45 Toll to I-35
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access

References

1 2 3 Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "State Highway Loop No. 1". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
↑ http://austin.about.com/od/gettingaroundaustin/a/StreetNames.htm
↑ http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/08/26/austin-slang/
↑ http://www.alwaysaustin.com/2011/04/deciphering-austin-street-names/?doing_wp_cron=1325493261
↑ http://www.yelp.com/topic/austin-mopac-expressway-just-wondering
↑ "Introduction: Mopac Improvement Project, April 2012" (PDF). Retrieved April 1, 2012.
↑ "The MoPac 1 Project will study feasibility of managed lanes for Loop 1, and included in the Mobility 2030 Plan that was adopted by CAMPO in June 2005". Retrieved June 1, 2005.
↑ "What Native American tribe was most common in the area?". Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
↑ MoPac Improvement Project

"Construction contract for Loop 1 extension awarded" (Press release). Texas Tollways. June 26, 2003.
"Loop 1 History". Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
"Austin toll roads will open November 1" (PDF) (Press release). Central Texas Turnpike System. September 18, 2006.

Roads in Greater Austin

Interstates	I-35 Bus. I-35-L (Mays Street)

U.S. Highways	US 79 US 183 US 290

State Highways	SH 21 SH 29 SH 45 SH 71 SH 80 SH 95 SH 123 SH 130 SH 138 SH 142 SH 165 SH 195 SH 304

State Loops and Spurs	Loop 1 Spur 69 Loop 111 Loop 212 Loop 275 Loop 343 Loop 360

Park and Recreational Roads	PR 1

Toll Roads	Manor Expressway Loop 1 SH 45 SH 130 183A Toll Road

FM and RM Roads	RM 12 FM 20 FM 86 FM 535 RM 620 FM 685 FM 734 FM 812 FM 969 FM 973 FM 1100 FM 1325 FM 1327 RM 1431 FM 1625 FM 1626 FM 1825 RM 1826 RM 2222 RM 2244 RM 2322 FM 3177 RM 3238

Bridges	Lamar Boulevard Bridge Mansfield Dam Montopolis Bridge Pennybacker Bridge Richards-Congress Avenue Bridge

Named Streets	6th Street

Related	CTRMA

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