Austin City Layout

Austin is easy to get around; it's simple to orient yourself to the sections of the city, many of which have kept their special character. Most areas are laid out in a grid, and you can usually tell east from west in Austin because east is flat and west is hilly. The beautiful Hill Country begins to rise on the west side of town and there are scenic drives with curves and panoramic views well within the city.

The river (Town Lake) divides north and south: anything north of the river is North Austin; anything south of the river is...yes, you guessed it... South Austin.

To get the larger picture, Austin is located at the heart of the Lone Star State and surrounded by three major Texas cities. Houston is a three-hour drive east; the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is a little more than a three-hour drive north; and historic San Antonio is little more than one hour south. Both the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and San Antonio are reached via Interstate 35, which goes right through Austin from the Texas/Mexican border all the way up to Canada. Houston is reached by either U.S. 290 East, or TX
Highway 71 East to Interstate 10 to Houston.

The city is laid out on the map at a slightly northeast/southwest slant, with three main north and south arteries. Interstate 35, which runs north and south, has elevated express lanes above the downtown area.

MoPac Expressway (Loop 1), which also goes north and south, takes its name from the Missouri-Pacific railroad tracks bisecting the expressway; trains still run on tracks between the northbound and the southbound lanes.

The third main north/south highway, U.S.183, known on the north of the city as Research Boulevard and on the south as Ed Bluestein Boulevard, makes a northwest/southeast circle around Austin, crossing both Interstate 35 and MoPac to intersect with RR 620 in far northwest Austin and U.S.90/State 71 in southeast Austin.

On the north side of town, FM 2222 runs east and west, winding west into the hills from I-35 and also meeting with RR 620 in far northwest Austin. East of the interstate it blends into U.S. 290. Coming from the east, U.S. 290 meets Interstate-35 and follows it south until it connects with State Highway 71.

Then together they both head west and out of the city, diverging at the "Y" in Oak Hill. Ben White Boulevard on the south side runs east and west, as do both William Cannon Boulevard and Slaughter Lane.

Other principal thoroughfares are Lamar Boulevard and Congress Avenue, both running north and south.

Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway) makes a big loop around the western half of the city from MoPac north to merge with U.S. 90 and State Highway 71 (Ben White Boulevard) on the south.

Congress Avenue is the dividing line for addresses east and west; the river (Town Lake) is the dividing line for addresses north and south. All of Austin is in Travis County, including several small communities which are considered part of the city, namely Jollyville north, Rollingwood and Westlake Hills southwest and Sunset Valley south.

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