Today, the Republic of Texas Biker Rally will begin it's festivities in Austin and thousands of bikers from all over the country.
The Rally's parade, which the city says will shut down over 50 city blocks, kicks off the event in earnest tomorrow. It starts at the Travis County Expo Center on Friday night and snakes through Austin before ending outside the Capitol on Congress Avenue.
Street Closures
Traffic will be heavy due to several street closures downtown and surrounding streets starting tomorrow:
- Congress Avenue will be closed from Cesar Chavez to 11th streets
- 2nd through 10th streets will be partially closed
- Cesar Chavez will remain open
- 11th Street will be closed during the parade, but will reopen after it's finished
- Parking on Congress is prohibited starting at 3 p.m. on Friday; towing will begin starting at 4 p.m.
If you plan on taking CapMetro, be sure to check the bus routes on Cap Metro's website.
Parade Routes
The parade starts at Travis Country Expo Center at 7 p.m. on Friday and will wind through Austin. The Downtown Austin Alliance estimates the riders will all reach Congress Avenue between 8 and 8:45 p.m.
Austin-Travis County EMS is cautioning drivers to look out for bikers, and says there's already been a crash involving a motorcycle earlier this morning.
@ROTRally has started. @ATCEMS is running our 1st motorcycle collision of the weekend. LOOK TWICE for motorcycles! #ArriveAlive #ATXTraffic
— ATCEMS (@ATCEMS) June 9, 2016
If you're looking to join in on some of the festivities this weekend, there's a whole slate of shows over the weekend, with The Cult, Chevy Metal and The Doors' Robbie Krieger playing sets at the Expo Center. For more on that, KUT's Nathan Bernier spoke with KUTX Program Director Matt Reilly about the weekend's most promising shows: