  State Highway 45 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 25.024 mi[1] (40.272 km) | |||
| Existed | 1985–present | |||
| Eastern segment | ||||
| Counterclockwise end |    US 183 /183A Toll Road /RM 620 inAustin | |||
| Major intersections |  Loop 1 Toll nearRound Rock I-35 in Round Rock SH 130 Toll inPflugerville  US 290 /290 Toll Road in Austin SH 71 near AustinSH 130 Toll /US 183 inMustang Ridge | |||
| Clockwise end | I-35 in Austin | |||
| Southwestern segment | ||||
| Counterclockwise end |  FM 1626 in Austin | |||
| Major intersections |  Loop 1 in Austin | |||
| Clockwise end |  RM 1826 in Austin | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Counties | Hays,Travis,Williamson | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Highway 45 is afreeway loop aroundAustin, Texas, that exists in two open segments. The official designation ofSH 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 fromRanch to Market Road 1826 toFarm to Market Road 1626 and intersects the southern terminus ofLoop 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 asfrontage roads. Between Loop 1 and FM 1626, the roadway becomes atolled 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 withSH-130.
Before the 2002Central Texas Turnpike Project (CTTP), SH 45 existed only as a short section of four-lane, divided highway in southwest Austin. The CTTP added atoll road that runs east fromUS 183 nearCedar Park, crossesI-35, bi-secting theLa Frontera development, and meetsSH 130 nearPflugerville. South of this interchange, SH 45 is co-signed with SH 130 to US 183 just south ofAustin-Bergstrom International Airport. SH 45 then loops westward rejoining I-35 north ofBuda.
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 inCedar Park. For a distance, RM 620 travels concurrently with the frontage roads also designated as State Highway 45 (non-tolled). Heading east, the freeway interceptsLoop 1's northern terminus, bisectsLa Frontera and crosses I-35. This particular segment ends at SH 130 near Pflugerville, but the SH 45 designation continues southward along SH 130.
TheTexas 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 is a 7.4-mile (11.9 km), tolled segment southeast of Austin, nearCreedmoor, Texas. Roughly parallelingFarm to Market Road 1327, it is a four-lane, controlled-access facility that links SH 130 and US 183 to Interstate 35 north ofBuda, 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, theFederal 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 is a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) tollway link between the southern terminus ofLoop 1 in the west andFarm 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 theCTRMA conducted studies to find the 85th percentileoperating 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 theCity of Lakeway.[7][8]
State Highway 45 was originally designated on August 18, 1919, as a route fromBryan to theLouisiana border.[9] On September 17, 1923, the section west ofRoans Prairie was cancelled.[10] On August 11, 1925, SH 45 was rerouted through Point Blank, Coldspring and Shepherd.[11] On March 19, 1929, a branch of SH 45 on a more direct route from Point Blank to Livingston was designated.[12] As of March 19, 1930, large portions of the highway were still under construction along the proposed route. The section of the branch from Point Blank to Coldspring was renumbered asSH 156 and the section of the branch from Coldspring to Shepherd was renumbered as part of SH 150, so that SH 45 went on the most direct route between Point Blank and Livingston. By 1938, the road was complete, with small portions remaining as a dirt road. On September 26, 1939, the highway fromHuntsville to Jasper had been transferred toU.S. Highway 190, the stretch from Jasper to the Louisiana state line transferred toSH 63 (this was originally proposed asSH 296, and the section from Roans Prairie to Huntsville redirected north toCrockett. on August 24, 1960, the stretch from Huntsville to Crockett was transferred toSH 19. On December 15, 1960, the rest of SH 45 was canceled and transferred toSH 30 to avoid confusion with I-45. The current route was designated, but not constructed, on May 22, 1985, as a proposed Austin Loop, along withSH 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 asSH 150.
On February 11, 2021, icy conditions caused a 26 vehicle pile-up. This incident occurred near the overpass withRM 620. Three people were hospitalized.[14]
The interchange atI-35 was partially affected by theMarch 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 byKXAN-TV.[15]
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamson | Austin | 0.0 | 0.0 | RM 620 (SH 45 west) / Pecan Park Boulevard | |||
 US 183 /183A Toll Road north | Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance | ||||||
| 0.8 | 1.3 | Lake Creek Parkway | Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance | ||||
| Lake Creek Toll Plaza | |||||||
| 1.4 | 2.3 |  FM 734 (Parmer Lane) | |||||
| | 2.8 | 4.5 |  RM 620 | Full access to Pearson Ranch Road; access to Round Rock Medical Center | |||
| | 4.8 | 7.7 | O'Connor Drive / McNeil Road | Indirect clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance for McNeil Road | |||
| | 5.3 | 8.5 |  Loop 1 Toll south | ||||
| Round Rock | 6.4 | 10.3 |  FM 1325 (La Frontera Boulevard) / County Road 172 | ||||
| Travis–Williamson county line | 7.3 | 11.7 | I-35 –Waco | I-35 exit 250B; no direct exits to I-35 south (signed eastbound at FM 1325 and westbound at A. W. Grimes Boulevard) | |||
| Williamson | 8.0 | 12.9 | Greenlawn Boulevard | No direct counterclockwise exit (signed at A. W. Grimes Boulevard) | |||
| 8.9 | 14.3 | A. W. Grimes Boulevard | |||||
| 10.2 | 16.4 | Kenney Fort Boulevard | No counterclockwise exit | ||||
| Travis | Pflugerville | 11.2 | 18.0 | Heatherwilde Boulevard | Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance | ||
| Pflugerville Toll Plaza | |||||||
| 11.3 | 18.2 |   SH 130 /FM 685 / Kelly Lane | SH 130 exit 428A | ||||
| 12.8 | 20.6 | SH 130 Toll north –Waco | north end of SH 130 overlap; SH 45 north/west follows exit 428B | ||||
| seeSH 130 | |||||||
| Mustang Ridge | 41.6 | 66.9 |  US 183 –Austin,Airport | SH 130 exit 457 | |||
| 42.0 | 67.6 | SH 130 Toll south –San Antonio | south end of SH 130 overlap; SH 45 south/west follows exit 458 | ||||
| | 45.6 | 73.4 |  FM 1625 –Creedmoor | ||||
| | Buda Toll Plaza | ||||||
| | 48.8 | 78.5 | North Turnersville Road | ||||
| Austin | 50.5 | 81.3 |   I-35 /FM 1327 east –San Antonio,Austin | I-35 exit 223A | |||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| Hays | Austin | FM 1626 | Seagull intersection | ||||
| Travis | Bliss Spillar Road | Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance | |||||
| Bear Creek Toll Plaza | |||||||
 Loop 1 north (Mopac Boulevard) / Archeleta Boulevard | Clockwise end of SH 45 Southwest Toll Road; counterclockwise end of divided highway | ||||||
| RM 1826 | |||||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||||
A possible connection from FM 1626 to I-35 is included in CAMPO's 2040 Plan for study.
Media related toTexas State Highway 45 at Wikimedia Commons
