Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
Wondering what’s behind recent lane changes or detours? Several road and pedestrian projects across Southwest Austin are reshaping local traffic and enhancing safety for all road users.
Upcoming projects
Fitzhugh Road
Project: Hays County and Travis County are working together to provide the design and construction of safety improvements along 3.9 miles of Fitzhugh Road, according to Hays County documents.
Update: Proposed improvements include additional road signs, radar speed reduction signs, vegetation maintenance, new pavement markings, guardrails, and upgrades to shoulders and intersections. However, funding for the $5 million design and construction phases has not yet been secured, as the project was originally slated to be funded through the overturned 2024 road bond.
Sawyer Ranch Road
Project: The current two-lane roadway is being redesigned as a four-lane divided thoroughfare to allow for easier access to Hwy. 290, according to Hays County documents.
Update: Design work is underway for 3.2 miles of the roadway from Hwy. 290 to Darden Hill Road.
Ongoing projects
William Cannon Drive
Project: Austin crews are busy with several projects along William Cannon Drive as part of a larger corridor improvement project spanning from Southwest Parkway to McKinney Falls Parkway. The project aims to increase safety, mobility and connectivity.
Update: Work is underway on signal and pedestrian improvements west of MoPac, according to an interactive map on the project's website. The project will add travel lanes, upgrade traffic signals and pedestrian hybrid beacons, introduce shared-use paths for people walking and biking, and include landscaping, mobility enhancements, and improvements to street drainage and water lines. A new traffic signal is planned for the intersection of William Cannon Drive and Rialto Drive.
Slaughter Lane
Project: Another of the city’s outlined corridor improvement programs, work along Slaughter Lane includes widening the roadway from four to six lanes, adding shared-use paths, signal upgrades and landscaping enhancements. Spanning FM 1826 to Old Lockhart Road, the project is aimed at increasing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as increasing mobility, according to Austin's transportation and public works department.
Update: The most recent phase of work from MoPac to Brodie Lane, known as C2, kicked off this past summer. Work also includes new traffic signals and crosswalk upgrades at the intersection of Brodie Lane and Bowie High School. At Zuniga Drive, there will also be a new pedestrian crossing light and other safety improvements.
Oak Hill Parkway
Project: The 7-mile stretch of highway has been undergoing a $677 million facelift since 2021. The Texas Department of Transportation is currently reconstructing Hwy. 290 in Oak Hill, transforming the existing four-lane, undivided roadway to a six-lane divided highway with new frontage roads and 14 miles of shared-use paths, according to TxDOT documents.
Update: The William Cannon Drive bypass bridge is closed as crews connect it to the new main lanes and flyovers. Eastbound drivers are being detoured to the Hwy. 290 frontage road; the bridge will reopen for westbound traffic once construction wraps up.