Infrastructure project to impact downtown traffic, 2-hour power outage planned early June 22

The city of Austin has advised that a downtown infrastructure project will impact traffic around the south end of Brazos Street, and also result in a temporary planned power outage early June 22.

What's happening

The Waller Beach Duct Bank Upgrade will install 1,000 feet of underground power lines linking the new Rainey Street substation to the downtown power network. Project preparations began earlier this spring ahead of an estimated one-year construction timeline.

In June, excavation will be taking place on Brazos Street to prepare for future tunneling work. Construction is expected to take place on weekdays from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Traffic and parking around Brazos will be affected, according to the city, and a portion of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail will also be closed and temporarily rerouted.

As part of the downtown electric reliability upgrades, Austin Energy also scheduled a temporary power outage June 22 that could affect customers throughout the area. The outage is planned to last two hours beginning at 3 a.m. and may affect "parts of downtown and areas south of Lady Bird Lake," according to Austin Capital Delivery Services.

Austin Energy Customer Care can be reached at 512-494-9400 for questions or assistance related to the outage.

What else?

In addition to the main duct bank project, emergency Austin Water wastewater repairs are also taking place in the area. The central power utility project schedule is being coordinated with that work, according to Austin Capital Delivery Services.

AW is repairing a 42-inch wastewater line that crosses Waller Creek through the Cured-in-Place Pipe, or CIPP, method that involves building a new pipe within the old one. A spokesperson said the water utility is coordinating with local stakeholders and "will work to keep impacts to a minimum."