A portion of East Cesar Chavez Street downtown will close Jan. 15-19 due to construction impacts in the area.

What's happening

One block of the east-west roadway will be shut down between Red River and Trinity streets through the start of next week. The closure will take place early Jan. 15 and end the evening of Jan. 19, according to Austin Transportation and Public Works.

During the closure, the city recommends the following detours:
  • For eastbound travelers, taking Congress Avenue, Brazos Street or San Jacinto Boulevard north to Fifth Street to I-35
  • For westbound travelers, taking I-35 north to East Sixth Street
A block of Cesar Chavez Street downtown will close Jan. 15-19. (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works)
A block of Cesar Chavez Street downtown will close Jan. 15-19. (Courtesy Austin Transportation and Public Works)
The five-day closure is due to construction on the nearby Waterline tower, which topped out last summer at more than 1,000 feet tall. The building will open in phases starting later this year with a 252-room hotel, followed by more than 700,000 square feet of offices and hundreds of residences.

The street closure is needed as a public safety measure while the tower crane is dismantled, according to the city.


The affected Cesar Chavez block is just north of the Rainey Street Historic District and south of the Austin Convention Center site, where redevelopment of the city exposition center is also proceeding.