For a maximum of eight years, a shaded section of Austin’s busiest route will be transformed into a construction site. Details of a multi-year detour for the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail are still unclear, though, as equipment is only a few days away from being carried under I-35.
As the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) demolishes and rebuilds the I-35 bridges that span Lady Bird Lake, the 10-mile Butler Trail—which is traversed by an estimated 5 million people annually—will remain beneath the highway.
However, the route will be changed until 2033, when construction is expected to conclude. The trail’s width and ability to cross the worksite and large machinery beneath the highway are unknown.
For up to five days at a period, the well-traveled route may be totally blocked at I-35 during more intricate stages of construction and demolition.
According to TxDOT, this won’t occur more than three times annually, but there won’t be an official detour during those periods. To cross the 63-year-old freeway, pedestrians would have to make the nearly mile-long journey up to Holly Street and back.
The Trail Conservancy’s executive projects director, Charlotte Tonsor, stated, “We really want to keep this as safe as possible.” We are aware of the impact this will have on visits, weekly use, and daily use. We therefore take that seriously.
TxDOT has been negotiating a diversion with the Conservancy, which oversees Town Lake Park and the route. According to Tonsor, in order to handle the thousands of people who travel through the area each day, the diverted corridor beneath I-35 should be 10 to 14 feet wide.
According to a graphic in TxDOT’s construction plans, a temporary concrete walkway that is five feet wide might be used for at least some of the detour.
Multiple entities, including the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, TxDOT, the Trail Conservancy, and the contractor Balfour Beatty Construction, are involved in the Butler Trail detour project, which has caused confusion even among those involved.
The trail diversion was reported as beginning this month on the city’s website. However, TxDOT stated that the trail won’t be changed until after a public Community Connectors meeting, which is anticipated to take place in early September.
As TxDOT builds an eight-mile section of I-35 through Central Austin, the Butler Trail diversion is only a small part of the years-long road, sidewalk, and trail closures.
The northbound frontage road bridge over Lady Bird Lake is expected to lose its walkway in 2026. Bicyclists and pedestrians will need to adapt, but the southbound sidewalk will stay available.
On the east side of I-35, TxDOT plans to begin construction on a new pedestrian-only bridge next year. The car bridges’ sidewalks will be reconstructed with a broader, traffic-free layout.
More immediately, TxDOT will begin fencing the north side of Lady Bird Lake beneath the highway and closing a free parking space on Sunday. From kayakers to seniors who fish beneath the bridge, the TxDOT-owned lot, which has roughly 50 places, has long been in use. During construction, that lake access won’t be replaced.
Jose Martinez, who has been fishing for bass and catfish under the shade of I-35 for eighteen years, claimed that even the pigeons recognize him.
He calmly responded, “Well, I’ll have to find another place,” after taking a drag off his cigarillo when asked how he felt about the parking lot closing.
As part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting collaboration with KUT, this story was created.
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