On Saturday, February 7, 2026, the City of Austin cut the ribbon on the Wishbone Bridge at Longhorn Dam. The bridge closed the biggest gap in the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. Two days later, in the week of February 9, TxDOT closed the east-side I-35 pedestrian crossing so it could build the new Lady Bird Lake bridge. The Trail Conservancy expects that closure to last about a year.
Those two changes landed within days of each other, and together they redrew the east end of the lake. For years, Pleasant Valley Road was the hard part of an eastside lap. Now that stretch has an off-road crossing, and the uncertain spot is farther west, under the interstate. For anyone heading out from Festival Beach, Holly, or the Canterbury side, the Wishbone is the crossing to plan around until early 2027.
What the Wishbone replaced
Before the bridge, the east end of the Butler Trail sent walkers, runners, and cyclists onto the Pleasant Valley Road bridge. The City's project recap calls it a high-crash roadway with narrow sidewalks next to fast traffic. The old underpass beneath Pleasant Valley was six feet wide, dimly lit, and prone to flooding. KUT reported that the opening let people travel along this part of the lake without being routed next to fast-moving cars and trucks for the first time since Longhorn Shores was developed in the mid-1970s.
The replacement has three legs, and each one ends somewhere different:
- South of Longhorn Dam at the Unity Underpass, which runs beneath Pleasant Valley Road and connects Longhorn Shores to the Roy G. Guerrero Trail and Krieg Fields
- North of the dam at Canterbury Street
- North of the dam at the old Holly Peninsula
Each leg is more than three football fields long. The shared-use path is 24 feet wide and widens to about 65 feet at a central plaza meant for gathering and heavy foot and bike traffic. The Trail Conservancy donated 14 brightly colored "maraca" benches for the plaza and plans 17 more over the next two years. The project also planted more than 85 trees and 1,500 shrubs.
The underpass changed too. The new Unity Underpass is 30 feet wide, 16 feet tall, and 165 feet long, with better drainage and lighting. Its walls carry public art by Reginald Adams, made from tiles created by more than 200 community members.
"The key purpose for both structures was safety and connectivity, and we were successful in doing that." Project manager Laurie Thering, quoted in the City's Building Austin recap
The two main accounts of the cost tell it differently. The City says the bridge was paid for through the 2020 Mobility Bond Program, came in under its roughly $25 million budget, and finished four months ahead of schedule. KUT reported that the project cost more than expected and that U.S. Rep. Greg Casar secured more than $4 million in federal funding, which allowed construction to begin in July 2024. Either way, the bridge is finished and open.
The gap moved to I-35
The Wishbone fixed the eastern end of the lake. The I-35 Capital Express Central project now controls the stretch between the eastside neighborhoods and downtown. The Trail Conservancy's detour page lists the project as starting in early 2025 and running about eight years, to 2033.
Five separate closures affect the trail around the interstate, and each one has its own end date:
| Closure near I-35 | What it affects | Expected through |
|---|---|---|
| East-side I-35 pedestrian crossing | No crossing between the north and south shores on the east side of I-35 | About one year from the week of Feb. 9, 2026 |
| South-shore boardwalk at I-35 | Fully closed for pedestrian-bridge construction | Oct. 12 to Oct. 18, 2026 |
| Part of the south-shore boardwalk | Limited access; passage under I-35 stays open | Early 2027 |
| Riverside Drive pedestrian ramp to the boardwalk | Ramp along the northbound I-35 frontage road closed | 2029 |
| East Avenue under the Lady Bird Lake bridge | Closed | Late 2026 |
The full boardwalk closure that began today runs through Sunday, October 18. During that week, the Trail Conservancy lists two other access points, at South Lakeshore Boulevard east of I-35 and at the trail entrance west of I-35. According to the Conservancy, full closures of the trails and waterways near the bridge are capped at three a year, and none can last more than a week. So a week-long shutdown like this one is a scheduled event, and the Conservancy posts it in advance.
One more change sits just south of the lake. TxDOT lists Woodland Avenue under I-35 as closed to through traffic, and the project plans a pedestrian-only bridge at Woodland as part of the finished design. Northbound frontage road access just north of Riverside Drive is closed through 2029, and drivers are routed through a Riverside Drive bypass lane.
A loop from the Holly side this fall
During the closure, the Trail Conservancy recommends crossing the lake at South Congress or using the Wishbone at Pleasant Valley. Starting from the north shore near Festival Beach, those two crossings make a complete loop:
- Head west on the north-shore trail toward downtown.
- Cross to the south shore at South Congress.
- Follow the south-shore trail east, using the construction signage at I-35. After October 18, passage under the I-35 bridge stays open even with the boardwalk partly limited.
- Continue east toward Longhorn Shores and the Unity Underpass.
- Cross back to the north shore on the Wishbone and get off at the Holly Peninsula or Canterbury Street leg, whichever is closer to home.
This route is longer than the old shortcut across the I-35 bridge, and the extra distance falls on the downtown stretch of the trail. The east-end crossing is now the off-road part of the route.
The October 12 to 18 closure is the exception. With the south-shore boardwalk at I-35 fully closed, the south side is reached from the South Lakeshore Boulevard access point east of I-35 or the trail entrance west of it, rather than by a continuous trip along the shore. A shorter out-and-back on the east end, through the Wishbone and the Unity Underpass to the Roy G. Guerrero Trail, avoids the interstate entirely.
What sits around the east end
The Wishbone's north legs end near Holly Shores, where improvements arrived before the bridge did. The Trail Conservancy's Holly project realigned the waterfront trail for accessibility and added a fishing pier, seating, lighting, and native-plant restoration beside the lagoon and ballfields west of the decommissioned Holly Power Plant. It was finished in 2025. The project added no new drinking fountains. The Conservancy points to two existing ones, by the baseball diamond and parking lot and near the Lorraine "Grandma" Camacho Activity Center. The Conservancy's interactive trail map shows fountains, restrooms, and parking, and it is the place to check whether a specific one is working before a long run.
The Conservancy's parking list for the east end includes the Festival Beach Boat Ramp, the Krieg Field lots, and the Roy G. Guerrero lot. The City describes parking at the boat ramp as limited. With the Wishbone open, the Krieg and Guerrero lots on the south side connect to the north-shore trail without a road crossing. On the water, the City lists The Expedition School at the Festival Beach Boat Ramp for paddleboard, kayak, and canoe rentals, and EpicSUP on the southeast shore along Lakeshore.
More work is coming to this shoreline. The City lists the Eastside Family Garden and Lakefront Trail Park as in fundraising and permitting, with construction planned for 2027. The plans include a trailhead at Metz Park, a connection to EastLink, a shoreline trail, and possibly shade, fountains, and play areas. If those timelines hold, the Holly side will get new trail amenities in about the same window that the I-35 crossings start reopening.
Trail detours change week to week, and the Trail Conservancy's detour page is the running record. TxDOT's Lady Bird Lake segment page tracks the frontage road and street closures around Riverside Drive.
At Cody Hobza, we follow how projects like the Wishbone and the I-35 rebuild change everyday routes through East Austin, block by block. If you'd like to know how the construction schedule lines up with a particular street near the lake, Let's Connect.