Editing Austin, Texas (section)

====Highways====
[[File:Pennybacker bridge sunset 2006.jpg|alt=|thumb|The [[Pennybacker Bridge]] is the signature element of [[Texas Loop 360|Loop 360]] in the [[Texas Hill Country]].]]

Central Austin lies between two major north–south freeways: [[Interstate 35 in Texas|I-35]] to the east and the [[Texas State Highway Loop 1|Mopac Expressway (Loop 1)]] to the west. [[U.S. Route 183 in Texas|US 183]] runs from northwest to southeast, and [[Texas State Highway 71|SH 71]] crosses the southern part of the city from east to west, completing a rough "box" around central and north-central Austin. Austin is the largest city in the United States to be served by only one Interstate Highway.

[[U.S. Route 290|US 290]] enters Austin from the east and merges into I-35. Its highway designation continues south on I-35 and then becomes part of SH 71, continuing to the west. Highway 290 splits from Highway 71 in southwest Austin, in an interchange known as "The Y." SH 71 continues to [[Brady, Texas]], and Highway 290 continues west to intersect [[Interstate 10 in Texas|I-10]] near [[Junction, Texas|Junction]]. Interstate 35 continues south through [[San Antonio]] to [[Laredo, Texas|Laredo]] on the Mexican border. I-35 is the highway link to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Northern Texas. There are two links to Houston (US 290 and SH 71/I-10). US 183 leads northwest of Austin toward [[Lampasas, Texas|Lampasas]].

In the mid-1980s, construction was completed on [[Texas State Highway Loop 360|Loop 360]], a scenic highway that curves through the hill country from near the 71/Mopac interchange in the south to near the US 183/Mopac interchange in the north. The iconic [[Pennybacker Bridge]], also known as the "360 Bridge," crosses Lake Austin to connect the northern and southern portions of Loop 360.