West Riverside Drive between South Lamar and South 1st is fully closed this week, and Auditorium Shores fills up for the Austin Food & Wine Festival on Friday. The Long Center's own notice says the road in front of the venue should reopen in "early 2027." That date covers only one stretch. The trench is part of a reclaimed-water pipeline that the city has had on its plans since 2011. A companion pipe is scheduled to dig up South 1st and Monroe Street into fall 2028.
So the access plan for November is a short detour inside a much longer project. If you know both timelines, the weekend events get easier, and so does driving through Bouldin until fall 2028.
A missing link from a 2011 plan
The project's official name is the West Riverside Reclaimed Water Main, and Austin Water runs it. Crews are laying about 2,800 feet of 24-inch pipe from South 1st Street to Lee Barton Drive. Most of it goes in by open trench, which is why the road is torn up. About 650 feet is going in by horizontal directional drilling.
The contract went before City Council as an agenda item dated April 23, 2026. The Council backup document explains why this street matters. Austin Water's 2011 Reclaimed Water Infrastructure Master Plan Update and its 2013 Completing the Core Plan both name West Riverside as necessary "to complete a core loop through downtown Austin." Finishing that loop joins the utility's reclaimed systems north and south of the Colorado River, adds customers and increases reliability. The same document says this segment connects to "the forthcoming South 1st St Reclaimed Water Main project and an existing line ending south of the river."
The water in that pipe is treated wastewater that would otherwise go into the Colorado River. Austin Water sends it through purple pipe for non-drinking uses such as irrigation, toilet flushing and industrial cooling, and says each gallon used saves a gallon from the Highland Lakes. Under its GoPurple program, the city estimates that more reuse could save 16 million gallons of drinking water a day by 2040.
The park next to the trench already waters from the lake
The Council document lists Vic Mathias Park at Auditorium Shores as a property the main "has the potential to serve." But the park doesn't use drinking water today. Austin Water's drought response page says Auditorium Shores and Butler Metro Park irrigate with non-potable water drawn directly from Lady Bird Lake, so watering restrictions don't apply to them.
That puts the park in a supporting role. What the city is paying for is the connection: a link between two halves of a citywide system. That explains why the trench runs past the Long Center and keeps going toward Monroe Street.
Two timelines on one street
Here are the published dates side by side.
| Source | What it covers | Published timeline |
|---|---|---|
| The Long Center | Riverside closures in front of the venue | Sept. 1, 2026 to "early 2027" |
| Austin Water | West Riverside main, South 1st to Lee Barton | Active construction Summer 2026 to Summer 2028 |
| Austin Water | South 1st St. main, along Monroe and South 1st | Active construction Spring 2026 to Fall 2028 |
The South 1st Street main runs about 5,500 feet along Monroe Street and South 1st. Austin Water says a large share will go in by horizontal directional drilling, which means less open-cut work on South 1st and lighter traffic impacts. The Texas School for the Deaf is listed as a possible future connection.
On West Riverside, the east end is finished. Austin Water reports that Phase 1 is complete and the disturbed asphalt has been repaved, with the new line installed from South 1st to the roundabout. The contractor's next step was to keep going west after ACL. The city page still describes the ACL-era setup, with only the westbound lane closed. The Long Center's directions page has newer information. It says "Phase 2 Closure has started" and "Riverside Drive is now fully closed." For questions, Austin Water lists its construction inspector's direct line, 512-974-1549, on the project page.
Driving around Phase 2
These are the Long Center's current instructions for its side of the park:
- There is no right turn onto Riverside from southbound South Lamar.
- You can still reach the Circle Drive, valet and the Palmer Events Center garage's Riverside entrance from South 1st Street, either by crossing South 1st on Riverside or by turning off South 1st and cutting the median.
- During construction, the Long Center recommends the garage's Barton Springs Road entrance next to the Palmer Events Center. The walk is longer, but it takes pressure off Riverside. RiverSouth Garage is the other option on its map.
- The Long Center lists Palmer Events Center garage parking at $12, cashless, unless special rates are posted.
Austin Water says sidewalks stay open while the traffic controls are in place. The city's current park closure list shows Butler Trail disruptions at Willow Street, at the Brazos and Confluence area, and near Rainey Street and I-35. None of them is on the Auditorium Shores stretch. If you walk the dog or run the trail on the south shore, your route along the water hasn't changed.
Food & Wine weekend, Nov. 6 to 8
The Austin Food & Wine Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Auditorium Shores. According to its getting-here page, the box office and entrance are off Riverside Drive and South 1st Street. That's the east end, where the pipe is already in and the road has been repaved. Here's the order of options that page lays out:
- Bike. Bike parking is next to the festival box office and entrance at Riverside and South 1st. For Bouldin Creek and Travis Heights, this is the shortest trip.
- CapMetro. The festival says several frequent routes run near Auditorium Shores and points to CapMetro for trip planning.
- Rideshare. Pickup and drop-off are at 100 Lee Barton Dr., at the west end of the park, near the side of the road that's still under construction.
- Driving. There's no festival parking.
For anyone coming from the Zilker side, the Lee Barton rideshare point and the no-right-turn rule on South Lamar affect the same approach. If you're getting picked up after an evening session, set the pin at Lee Barton before you request the ride.
Thanksgiving morning at the Long Center
The 36th annual ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot starts and finishes at the Long Center on Thursday, Nov. 26, with a 5-mile run, a 1-mile walk and the Stepping Stone School Kids K. On the ThunderCloud page, packet pickup runs from 7 to 9 a.m. The Kids K starts at 8:15 a.m. and the timed 5-mile at 8:30 a.m. The race's RunSignup FAQ lists start times that don't match. Check both pages again the week of the race.
The organizer's access plan works around Riverside:
- Parking at the Palmer Events Center and Long Center garage, City Hall, One Texas Center, State Garage N, the Bat Bridge lot and the Silicon Labs garage. The race page calls the Palmer and Long Center parking free, while the Long Center's general page lists $12 unless special rates are posted.
- Uber drop-offs at One Texas Center if you're coming from south of the river, and on Lee Barton near the Loren Hotel if you're coming from the north. A free golf-cart shuttle runs from the Lee Barton drop-off to the Long Center.
- A secure bike corral for anyone who rides in.
- A request from organizers not to park in the neighborhoods south of the river.
The RunSignup FAQ says course roads reopen at 11:30 a.m. and recommends arriving at least an hour before your start, because parking is limited. If you live on the streets organizers asked visitors to avoid, Thanksgiving traffic should clear by late morning.
The festival and the race will both be over before the Long Center's early 2027 reopening. Austin Water's published schedules run the West Riverside main through summer 2028 and the South 1st and Monroe main through fall 2028.
If you're selling or buying near Riverside or South 1st while these pipes go in, construction timing affects showings, photography and how a listing reads. Cody Hobza tracks these project timelines block by block and can help you plan around them. Let's Connect.