Was there ever a proposed SH45 toll West Loop for Austin?

[texaskdog]

Willing to bet maybe its at 19th & Lavaca.

Judging by the shadows, the picture is looking north, so that is probably correct.

Good investigative work!

[djlynch]

If you take the caption at its word as that building being in the back of a house in the 2600 block of Whitis, it would also be in a good position to have a sign indicating that you want to go left at the fork where Guadalupe dog-legs at 27th Street. The arrow shows a sharper turn than is actually there, but the through route would be straight ahead.

[texaskdog]

Maybe I need to take a current picture there

[Cam4rd98]

They need a few bridges over Lake Travis

Expanding 620 between 2222 and 183 into a toll road. We don't want the toll road anywhere near Lake Travis.

[texaskdog]

They need a few bridges over Lake Travis

Expanding 620 between 2222 and 183 into a toll road. We don't want the toll road anywhere near Lake Travis.

We don't want any more toll roads.

[ethanhopkin14]

I want a freeway near Lake Travis.

[texaskdog]

I want a freeway near Lake Travis.

I wonder if you could make a nice little freeway from DT Austin to Lake Travis.  If only I had one of the fictional map programs.

Okay. It goes up Mopac to 2222.  Make 2222 a freeway until it hits 620.  Cut off the small bend on the south side of that intersection. Goes along 620 to Hudson Bend and bridge the lake to Lago Vista. 

[Cam4rd98]

We need to squeeze an overpass at Anderson Mill Road. It can be built at non-freeway standards. Toll-Free Overpasses. and a couple more along the way. We don't want a giant freeway at Anderson Mill because there are already businesses in the way that would have to be demolished if SH 45 was extended all the way to lakeway.

Grade Intersections on 620 that Should be overpassed-
Anderson Mill Road
El Salido Parkway
Pecan Park Blvd
Ridgeline Blvd (and install traffic signal)
Deerbrook Trail
Hatch Road

A mini 4-lane Parkway with frontage roads beside it just like the Wurzbach Parkway in San Antonio!

[Cam4rd98]

[;

[Cam4rd98]

hjf

[texaskdog]

The cost of right-of-way has probably spiked 10-fold in the past 30 years in west Austin. If anything is built at all, it'll be in segments and will probably take another 30 to complete.

What's interesting though is that halfway between Anderson lane and 2222, they kept enough right of way to build a freeway with frontage roads:

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=30.420959,-97.845483&spn=0.020206,0.025706&gl=us&ui=maps&t=k&z=15

No that's the wildlife preserve.  They gated it all off from the bikers and you can only hike there 7 months a year.

[texaskdog]

I believe they just set it up to run down 620, and when it got around 2222 it would run further east, away from Lakeway.   Before Steiner Ranch was built, anyway.

Further east yes. But the 620 Mansfield Dam bypass bridge was built to freeway standards with expansion of SH 45 in mind. So it would cut east after the bridge.

I hear now, from someone in Steiner, that they are reviving it

[oscar]

Not sure if it's been mentioned above and I missed it, but there is a little piece of SH45 between the south end of Loop 1 and RM 1826, which might've been part of the proposed west loop.  IIRC, when I drove it there was no toll.

[texaskdog]

Not sure if it's been mentioned above and I missed it, but there is a little piece of SH45 between the south end of Loop 1 and RM 1826, which might've been part of the proposed west loop.  IIRC, when I drove it there was no toll.

Yeah, that's the part someone called frontage roads which would explain why it is so wide.  I guess it had to connect somewhere.