For Travis Heights, the Way to Lady Bird Lake Has Moved Away From I-35

For the next several years, the I-35 edge of Travis Heights is the slowest way to reach the lake from the neighborhood. Woodland Avenue no longer passes under the highway. The Boardwalk ramp at Riverside is closed until 2029. The east-side walkway across the I-35 bridge is fenced off. The routes that still work come out of the middle and west side of the neighborhood, at Blunn Creek and the Statesman lot. For anyone walking the full loop, the east crossing is now the Wishbone Bridge at Longhorn Dam.

None of these changes are short. TxDOT's Lady Bird Lake segment of I-35 Capital Express Central started in early 2025 and lists 2033 as its expected completion, weather permitting. The contractor is Balfour Beatty. Several of the closures below are set by that schedule, not by a single season.

What changed on the highway side

The biggest change is permanent. TxDOT's Lady Bird Lake segment page says Woodland Avenue under I-35 is permanently closed. Drivers make U-turns on the frontage roads at Riverside Drive or Oltorf Street, and pedestrians crossing at Woodland are sent to the Oltorf Street bridge. TxDOT's plans include a pedestrian-only bridge at Woodland. KUT reported that its construction could start as soon as 2029. That is a possible start date. No opening date has been announced.

Riverside has partial closures. The table lists each closure near the neighborhood's northeast corner, using the dates the agencies have published.

The two agencies give different end dates for the east-side crossing, and they are describing slightly different things. The Trail Conservancy's detour page, updated October 9, 2026, says the east-side crossing closure is expected to last about a year. TxDOT says the existing east pedestrian path at the lake will stay closed through 2029. Neither agency has published an opening date for the new east pedestrian bridge.

For now, anyone on foot at Riverside follows TxDOT's posted detour. Temporary pedestrian signals at Manlove Street and Edgecliff Terrace handle the Riverside Drive crossings. The lake crossing at I-35 uses the west sidewalk on the southbound frontage road bridge. The highway side still gets you across, but it takes longer than it used to.

The four Boardwalk entrances, west to east

Austin Parks and Recreation lists four ways onto the Boardwalk. The two farthest west are the ones I-35 work leaves alone.

1. The northeast corner of the American-Statesman parking lot. This is the westernmost entrance and the closest one to South Congress.
2. The Riverside Drive sidewalk at Blunn Creek. This is where the creek that runs through the middle of Travis Heights meets the lake, so it is the most direct way in from the neighborhood's interior.
3. The northeast corner of Riverside and I-35. The ramp here is closed through 2029. The staircase stays open apart from intermittent construction closures, so this entrance only works for people who can take stairs.
4. International Shores Park, 1820 S. Lakeshore Blvd. This one is on the far side of the highway. Street parking runs along S. Lakeshore Boulevard between Pleasant Valley Road and Riverside.

The Boardwalk is open from 5 a.m. to midnight.

During the full closure that ended October 18, The Trail Conservancy sent trail users to the entrance west of I-35 or to South Lakeshore Boulevard east of it. Those are the same two directions that keep working through the longer closures. There will be more full closures. TxDOT and The Trail Conservancy both say continuous full closures of the trails and water near the bridge are limited to three a year, each no longer than one week. TxDOT adds that intermittent and overnight closures happen as needed. Signs go up on site before each one. The Trail Conservancy's detour page lists them, and TxDOT runs an email list for the segment.

The loop now crosses at South Congress and Longhorn Dam

With the east-side I-35 crossing closed, The Trail Conservancy suggests two other ways across the lake: South Congress, or the Wishbone Bridge at Pleasant Valley. Together they turn a long loop into something easier from Travis Heights. You can cross at South Congress, run the north shore, and come back across at Longhorn Dam.

The Wishbone Bridge opened with a ribbon cutting on February 7, 2026, at 100 S. Pleasant Valley Road. According to the City of Austin's project page, the pedestrian and bicycle bridge sits near Longhorn Dam. It ties the Butler Trail at Longhorn Shores to Canterbury and the Holly Peninsula, and walkers no longer have to use the Pleasant Valley Road sidewalk. Its three approaches are the Unity Underpass south of the dam, the end of Canterbury Street, and the end of the old Holly peninsula. Parking is at Krieg Field. KUT reported that the bridge closes the eastern gap in the 10-mile Butler Trail loop.

The north shore has two detours of its own this fall. Near I-35, the trail follows a long-term detour along the south side of East Avenue. The Trail Conservancy describes it as a 14-foot-wide path, partly decomposed granite and partly concrete, expected to stay in place until the project finishes in 2033. Farther west, the trail is rerouted near the Confluence and the Austin Rowing Club building from June 2026 through March 2027 while Austin Energy installs underground electrical lines between Brazos and Trinity streets. Trail users there are asked to slow down and follow on-site staff.

The same work affects people on the water. Paddlers going under the I-35 bridge have a 75-foot-wide passage away from the work zones through 2033. The Holiday Inn boat ramp on the north shore, west of I-35, is limited to emergency vehicles for the same period.

The bats are on the Travis Heights side of the bridge

The west-side route has a seasonal bonus right now. The Congress Avenue Bridge bat colony is still flying, and the viewing spot Austin Bat Refuge recommended this month is under the bridge on its southeast side, which is the Statesman side and a short walk from the westernmost Boardwalk entrance.

On Thursday, October 15, 2026, the Refuge logged a flight that began 12 minutes after sunset. A snapshot at 7:47 p.m. showed about 12% of the summer colony in the air, with bats visible under the streetlights until 7:57 p.m. The Refuge noted that the bats are feeding on reverse-migrating moths, which fuel their migration. Its daily forecast, last updated October 16, says partial migration has started, with some bats leaving Congress and others arriving from the north. According to the Refuge's seasonal guide, the colony starts leaving in October, but good viewing can last well into December.

Flights depend on the weather. The Refuge says temperatures below 60°F, non-northerly winds over 10 mph, a good chance of rain, or a waxing gibbous to full moon can shrink or suppress a flight. Bats sometimes come out half an hour early on the first night of a north cold front. The Refuge posts a predicted flight window every day, which is the one to check before you walk over.

What stays fixed until the end of the decade

Some of these closures have dates and some do not. The south-shore Boardwalk limits at I-35 are expected to ease in early 2027. The Riverside ramp and the existing east lake path stay closed through 2029. The Woodland pedestrian bridge has a possible construction start, not an opening date. The East Avenue trail detour and the narrowed waterway last until 2033. Through all of it, the Statesman lot and Blunn Creek entrances stay open, along with the Congress Avenue crossing and the Wishbone Bridge at the far end of the loop.

At Walker Residential Group, we track the Lady Bird Lake segment of the I-35 project closely because a walk to the water is part of daily life in Travis Heights. If the 2029 and 2033 dates have you wondering how your block's access to the lake affects what your home is worth, start with an instant home valuation and we'll go through the numbers with you.