page_title: Texas State Highway Loop 1
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: Texas State Highway Loop 1 / Route description
caption_attribution_description: English: Mopac Expressway in Austin, just south of the exit for FM 2222.
context_page_description: 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 after the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Local residents almost always use the name "MoPac" rather than calling the road by its number, which can cause much confusion, for few signs along the road use this name.
  The original section of the highway was built in the 1970s along the right-of-way of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, 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.
context_section_description: 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; the view of the Texas State Capitol from the bridge became one of the Capitol View Corridors protected under state and local law from obstruction by tall buildings in 1983. North of the river, the highway runs 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 Merrilltown 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.
caption: A stretch of Loop 1 over the Hancock Drive bridge, looking north-northwest. The Union Pacific railway is visible in the foreground.
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