Preserving the travel history of Texas.
AUSTIN · HISTORICAL DIRECTORY
Created 13-April-2004
Five paths into Austin road history: abandoned pavement, changing freeway plans, archive photographs, old maps and the Loop 1 schematics.
Historical archive: the descriptions below are preserved from the 2004 directory and reflect the source period.
SOURCE DIRECTORY · FIVE ENTRIES
Follow old roadbeds, compare freeway plans or browse Austin’s historical photographs. These descriptions date from 2004.
ABANDONED ALIGNMENTS
As Austin's growth as swallowed the old, winding country roads around the city, several road re-alignments have occurred. Many of the old roadways are still visible. But take a look at these abandoned roads while you can, because eventually they'll be lost to development.
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1962–2000 PLANNING RECORD
The story of Austin's freeway master plan is a story of boom and bust. The aggressive 1960's plan was cancelled and was replaced with a more modest plan in the 1970s. The world-class 1986 plan was discarded in 1994 as environmentalists took control of local government. Now in 2000, the plan is once again in the expansion mode as explosive population growth is plunging Austin into gridlock.
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HISTORIC AUSTIN PHOTOGRAPHS
An interesting collection of old photos from around the Austin area.
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1839–1919 MAP COLLECTION
Old road maps of Austin and surrounding communities..
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LOOP 1 DESIGN RECORD
Design schematics for highways for construction already in place or projects that never happened.
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