text size

Fix My Commute: Highway 71 & Riverside Drive

Updated: Tuesday, October 30 2012, 07:17 AM CDT
A real traffic hot spot in the Austin area is the intersection of Highway 71 and Riverside Dr. It’s currently under construction as part of a $43 million project that will create an underpass and remove the light at Riverside Dr. Construction began in January and won’t be complete until the summer of 2014.

Christopher Bishop, the Public Information Officer for the Texas Department of Transportation says, "In the mean time what we're going to do is keep at least two lanes open, sometimes down to one lane, at night and on weekends and the rest of the time, it's a construction zone."

The underpass project at Riverside Dr is part of the big picture for Hwy 71. Rob Spillar, Transportation Director for the City of Austin says, "Literally in about three to four years you'll be able to go from Oak Hill to the east side at SH 130 without stopping at a signal and that's a huge improvement over 10 years ago."

Besides planning ahead so you don't miss your flight, there are some alternate routes that will skip this intersection all together. If you're coming from the north, you'll be able to use Hwy 183 and by pass the Riverside and Hwy 71 intersection. There's also right through downtown, on Cesar Chavez St or 7th St. If you’re coming from the south Hwy 183 is also an option, as well as some more rural streets like Burleson Dr.

By Erica Harpold
Fix My Commute: Highway 71 & Riverside Drive