The Republic of Texas (ROT) Motorcycle Rally comes to Austin for the 18th time this weekend. It kicks off Thursday morning at the Travis County Expo Center and runs until noon on Sunday.
Several roads close early Friday evening for the event, including Congress Avenue between East 11th Street and Cesar Chavez Street. The ROT Rally Parade will also close roads from the Travis County Expo Center to downtown, beginning around 8 p.m. Friday.
Related: After Deadly 2012, What's Austin Doing to Make ROT Rally Safer?
Below is a complete map of road closures and times this weekend:
View ROT Rally Road Closures 2013 in a larger map
The City of Austin recommends Interstate 35, Red River Street, Guadalupe Street and Lamar Boulevard as alternate north-south routes; and Cesar Chavez Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard as alternate east-west routes.
Like last year, 11th Street, southbound Colorado and northbound Brazos Streets will remain open.
ROT is the largest motorcycle assembly in Texas. Event organizers claim 200,000 partiers should fill the downtown streets of Austin for the rally's parade and party Friday night.
Also this weekend: Austin’s annual Juneteenth celebration will kick off Saturday, June 15. Several streets will close for a 2K freedom run and parade. Events last from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., although street closures begin at 5 a.m. All closed streets are in east Austin.
The event is to raise awareness about Juneteenth, also known as “Emancipation Day” – the day Texas slaves learned of the end of slavery.
You can learn more from the City of Austin. Below, a map of the parade route and street closures.
