View Riverside lane reduction June-Sept 2011 in a larger map
It might be disgusting to visualize, but the sewer lines serving downtown are at capacity, and now the city is building another tunnel to relieve central Austin of all its “wastewater”. For drivers, that means lane closures on Riverside Dr. at S. 1st St. until September.
The closures will reduce east bound traffic on Riverside to one lane from the traffic circle in front of the Long Center all the way to S. 1st St. Two lanes will be open westbound.
That could potentially create traffic problems for upcoming events at the Long Center, but the city says it is making “special arrangements” for traffic control. They’re also asking people to use Barton Springs Rd. or Cesar Chavez as alternate east-west routes downtown.
Construction starts this Sunday night and is expected to continue until September 2, if everything goes according to schedule.