Texas State Highway 45

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the loop in Austin, Texas. For the Interstate highway, see Interstate 45.

Beltway around Austin
Southwestern segment
CCW end
US 290
SH 71
US 183
SH 130 Toll
CW end I-35 in Austin
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
Highway system
← I-45→ SH 46

State Highway 45 is a freeway loop around Austin, Texas, that exists in two open segments. The official designation of SH 45 is such to form a complete loop around Austin, a distance of roughly 80 miles (130 km).

One segment is in southwest Austin and runs southeast from

Loop 1 (Mopac Expressway). Between RM 1826 and Loop 1, the roadway is a divided four-lane facility with a wide median intended to accommodate a future freeway, after which the current lanes would serve as frontage roads. Between Loop 1 and FM 1626, the roadway becomes a tolled
freeway.

The other segment is a toll road that forms a backwards C-shape along the boundary of Travis and Williamson County before bending down along the eastern edge of the Austin metropolitan area where it shares its route with SH-130.

Route description

Before the 2002

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. SH 45 then loops westward rejoining I-35 north of Buda
.

SH 45 North

SH 45 North is an approximately 13-mile (21 km) segment in the north Austin metropolitan area. The freeway's western terminus is at US 183 northwest of Austin in

Loop 1's northern terminus, bisects La Frontera
and crosses I-35. This particular segment ends at SH 130 near Pflugerville, but the SH 45 designation continues southward along SH 130.

State Highway 45 interchange with Interstate 35 under construction.

The

Texas Department of Transportation
had originally planned to complete construction of the entire 2002 CTTP in September 2007 but opened some sections of SH 45 North as early as October 31, 2006.

SH 45 Southeast

SH 45 Southeast is a 7.4-mile (11.9 km), tolled segment southeast of Austin, near

Farm to Market Road 1327, it is a four-lane, controlled-access facility that links SH 130 and US 183 to Interstate 35 north of Buda, Texas
. It completes the SH 45 eastern bypass loop around the Austin metropolitan area.

Originally planned as part of the 2002 CTTP, SH 45 Southeast became the subject of controversy, delaying development and necessitating it as a separate project. In 2006, an environmental advocacy group filed a lawsuit in an effort to move the alignment further south. By the summer of the same year, the Federal Highway Administration approved a new environmental impact study affirming the existing alignment, and a federal judge dismissed the case, clearing the way for construction, which began in Summer 2007. SH 45 Southeast was opened to traffic on May 7, 2009.

SH 45 Southwest

SH 45 Southwest is a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) tollway link between the southern terminus of

Farm to Market Road 1626 to the east. It is a four-lane, controlled-access facility and has a toll rate of $1. Construction on the SH 45 Southwest link officially began in November 2016, after decades of delays due to environmental and legislative concerns.[2] SH 45 Southwest was opened to traffic on June 1, 2019.[3] On April 25, 2022, the highway was assigned a speed limit 70 miles per hour.[4] From the opening of the highway until that date, the highway had no signed speed limit. The unsigned speed limit was set at the state default of 65 miles per hour, as the CTRMA conducted studies to find the 85th percentile operating speed.[5]

The highway will still require a segment between FM 1626 and I-35 to connect to the other tolled segments of SH 45. This section, SH 45 South, is already included in the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) 2040 Plan for study.[6] This missing link was one source of controversy surrounding the alignment of SH 45 Southeast. Opponents claimed the proximity of the southwestern and southeastern sections would create more pressure to connect the two and that, if built, the link would encourage development on or near environmentally sensitive land. Planning for the western portions of SH 45 to form a complete loop is still very early, although a proposal for possible route has already been offered by the City of Lakeway.[7][8]

History

SH 130
(north of US 183 only).

SH 45A was a spur designated on September 14, 1926, from Coldspring west to New Waverly.[13] On March 19, 1930, this spur was renumbered as SH 150.

On February 11, 2021, icy conditions caused a 26 vehicle pile-up. This incident occurred near the overpass with

RM 620. Three people were hospitalized.[14]

The interchange at

March 21, 2022 tornado outbreak when a large light pole was ripped off its foundation, the debris resting on the side of a flyover, as seen from photos captured by KXAN-TV.[15]

Exit list

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
WilliamsonAustin RM 620 (SH 45 west) / Pecan Park Boulevard

 US 183 / 183A Toll Road north		Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
Lake Creek ParkwayCounterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
Toll Plaza
FM 734 (Parmer Lane)
​ RM 620Full access to Pearson Ranch Road; access to Round Rock Medical Center
​O'Connor Drive / McNeil RoadIndirect clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance for McNeil Road
​
 Loop 1 Toll south
Round Rock FM 1325 (La Frontera Boulevard) / County Road 172
Travis–Williamson
county line		 I-35 – WacoI-35 exit 250B; no direct exits to I-35 south (signed eastbound at FM 1325 and westbound at A.W. Grimes Boulevard)
WilliamsonGreenlawn BoulevardNo direct counterclockwise exit (signed at A.W. Grimes Boulevard)
A.W. Grimes Boulevard
Donnell DriveNo counterclockwise exit
TravisPflugervilleHeatherwilde BoulevardClockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance
Toll Plaza
FM 685
 / Kelly Lane		SH 130 exit 428A

 SH 130 Toll north – Waco		north end of SH 130 overlap; SH 45 north/west follows exit 428B
see SH 130
Airport
SH 130 exit 457
San Antonio
south end of SH 130 overlap; SH 45 south/west follows exit 458
​
 To
FM 1625 – Creedmoor
​North Turnersville Road
San Antonio, Austin
I-35 exit 223A
Gap in route; free frontage roads only west of Loop 1
FM 1626 – Kyle
Seagull intersection
TravisBliss Spillar RoadClockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance

 Loop 1 north
Escarpment Boulevard
RM 1826
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 45". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  2. ^ "Nearly 30 years in the making, construction on SH 45 SW Toll starts". KXAN News. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "SH45 opens June 1". Hays Free Press. Hays Free Press. May 29, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "Speed limits set on 183 South and 45 SW toll roads". KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station. April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "Why are there no speed limits posted on the new 183 South toll road?". KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "SH 45 Toll: Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016. A possible connection from FM 1626 to I-35 is included in CAMPO's 2040 Plan for study.
  7. ^ McKee, Cassie (October 3, 2014). "CAMPO held public meeting on extending Hwy. 45, Lakeway proposed toll road goes through Four Points". Four Points News. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  8. ^ "SH 45 W. proposal garners CAMPO support". Bee Cave Bee. June 13, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  9. ^ "Minutes of the Twenty-Seventh Adjourned Regular Monthly Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. August 18, 1919.
  10. ^ "Minutes of the Seventy-Second and First Adjourned Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. September 17, 1923.
  11. ^ "Minutes of the Eightieth Regular Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. August 10, 1925.
  12. ^ "Minutes of the One Hundred and Thirty-Second Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. March 18, 1929.
  13. ^ "Minutes of the Ninety-Eighth Regular Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. September 13, 1926.
  14. ^ "At least 6 cars crash, 3 hospitalized on Texas 45 near location of earlier 26-car pileup".
  15. ^ "Blog: Widespread aftermath of tornado outbreak in Central Texas". KXAN. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.

Further reading

External links

KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Texas State Highway 45
KML is from Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_State_Highway_45&oldid=1198092687"