If you live east of Travis Heights Boulevard, which way do you head to reach Lady Bird Lake this fall? For years you could cut over at Woodland Avenue or cross the lake on the east side of I-35. In 2026 both of those routes closed. The replacements are on a construction calendar that runs from early 2027 to 2033.

For now, the neighborhood reaches the water from its west and middle. That means Blunn Creek, the Riverside sidewalk and South Congress. The east edge works more like a wall than a door. The details below come from TxDOT, the City of Austin and The Trail Conservancy, and the three don't always agree on dates.

How the East Edge Closed in 2026

The first change was Woodland Avenue. KUT reported in January 2026 that the vehicle crossing under I-35 was closing permanently. South River City Citizens, the neighborhood association, had fought that closure for more than a decade and warned it could lengthen emergency-response times. The same report noted that the pedestrian detour recommended at the time, south to Oltorf, came to more than a mile.

TxDOT's Lady Bird Lake segment page now lists Woodland under I-35 as permanently closed to through traffic. Drivers use the frontage roads and make U-turns at Riverside Drive or Oltorf Street, and pedestrians are sent to the Oltorf Street bridge.

The second change came a few weeks later. The Trail Conservancy says TxDOT closed the east-side I-35 pedestrian crossing starting the week of February 9, 2026, to build the new Lady Bird Lake bridge. The west-side sidewalk stayed open, but trail users can no longer cross between the north and south shores on the east side of the highway. Around the same time, Community Impact reported that the northbound frontage road just north of Riverside was closing until 2029, with traffic rerouted through a Riverside bypass lane and pedestrian signals at Manlove Street and Edgecliff Terrace. TxDOT's current page shows drivers using that bypass lane and a U-turn at Woodland, and says the U-turns are now open. KXAN spoke with residents along Riverside in February, who described daily traffic frustration and safety concerns under the new routing.

So by spring, three eastern links were gone: the Woodland underpass, the east lake crossing and the north Riverside sidewalk.

What's Closed, and How Long Each Source Says

The sources disagree on dates in a few places, so the table shows each one's version rather than choosing between them.

The biggest gap is the east crossing. TxDOT says the existing east path is closed through 2029. The Trail Conservancy expects its east-side closure to last about a year from February. The two may be describing different structures or stages of work. Until one of them updates, the longer date is the safer one to plan around.

The Routes That Still Reach the Water

With the east side closed, these are the entrances still open to the neighborhood. The City's trail page and the Conservancy's entrance list name them, listed here roughly west to east.

1. The lake crossing at South Congress. The Trail Conservancy recommends crossing here while the east-side I-35 crossing is closed.
2. The Boardwalk entrance at the northeast corner of the American-Statesman parking lot, which the City lists as an access point.
3. The Riverside Drive sidewalk at Blunn Creek. Both the City and the Conservancy name this entrance, and it is the most central one for most of Travis Heights.
4. The trail under the I-35 bridge. Both the City and the Conservancy say access under the bridge remains open to trail users during the boardwalk work.
5. International Shores Park, 1820 S. Lakeshore Blvd., east of I-35. The City lists it as an alternate access point during the boardwalk closure.
6. The Wishbone Pedestrian Bridge at Pleasant Valley, the Conservancy's other recommended lake crossing.

Walking north from the neighborhood across Riverside near the highway? TxDOT's detour map sends pedestrians to the west sidewalk on the bridge and to the temporary signals at Manlove Street and Edgecliff Terrace. The City doesn't list a separate formal trailhead at Travis Heights Boulevard, which is why Blunn Creek is the main entry point.

The Boardwalk's Closed Week Starts This Month

Part of the boardwalk will close completely for a week in October, and the two agencies give different dates for it. The Trail Conservancy says the south-shore boardwalk at I-35 closes Monday, October 12, through Sunday, October 18. The City's closures page, updated October 2, says the closure starts "as early as Sunday, October 18" and lasts one week. Either way, it begins this week or next, and the signs on site will have the final word.

During that week, both agencies point trail users to South Lakeshore Boulevard east of I-35 or to the trail entrance west of I-35. After the full closure ends, crews will limit access on part of the south-shore boardwalk through early 2027 while they build the pedestrian bridge. TxDOT's rule is that full, continuous closures of the trails and waterway near the bridge can happen no more than three times a year, for a week at most each time. Shorter closures happen as needed, and nightly closures follow the construction curfew. More one-week closures like this one are likely before the bridge is finished.

When the East Side Comes Back

There are three projects to follow, and none has a firm opening date.

The new east pedestrian bridge at the lake. TxDOT describes two standalone pedestrian bridges at Lady Bird Lake, each up to 24 feet wide, with shade structures and scenic lookouts. The east bridge falls in TxDOT's "beginning 2026" phase and the west bridge in 2029–2033. The fact sheet doesn't give a separate completion date for the east bridge. The Conservancy's one-year estimate for the east-side closure suggests early 2027, but TxDOT hasn't announced that as an opening date.

The Woodland Avenue pedestrian bridge. TxDOT plans a pedestrian-only bridge at Woodland to replace the old underpass connection. KUT reported that construction could start "as soon as 2029," and its illustration showed a 75-foot-wide bridge with benches and a shade structure. That is a start date, not an opening date. TxDOT expects the whole Lady Bird Lake segment to be finished in 2033, weather permitting. Its technical schedule, last updated September 2, 2026, labels the segment 2024–2033, and its bridge fact sheet says all dates are subject to change.

A $25 million south-shore boardwalk, still undecided. In June, the Statesman described a proposed boardwalk between Congress Avenue and South First Street, funded with TxDOT mitigation money. A June 2 City Parks memo said the funding agreement would come to Council in August 2026. TxDOT's attached letter said the mitigation would be withdrawn if the City chose not to sign. KXAN reported that some community members wanted the money spent east of I-35 and raised concerns about transparency. The agreement wasn't on the posted agendas for the August 27, September 10 or September 24 Council meetings. The latest timeline reporting we found was KUT's in March, which said there was "still no timeline" for building it. As of early October, the project is unresolved.

The Water That Needs No Detour

One body of water in the neighborhood isn't affected by any of this. Big Stacy Pool, at 700 E. Live Oak St. in Stacy Park, is open on its August 31, 2026, through spring 2027 schedule, so it stays open through the months of boardwalk work. Little Stacy Wading Pool closed for the season on August 16. For a swim or a lap of Blunn Creek this winter, Big Stacy is reachable without crossing Riverside or going near the frontage roads.

At Sovereign Place Real Estate, Stephanie Taylor and our team keep an eye on how projects like Capital Express Central change daily routes in the neighborhoods we serve. If you're considering a move within 78704, or want to know how these closures and the planned bridges might shape a block you have in mind, we're glad to talk it through with you.