Weekend road closures include I-35 exits downtown

It’s a good bet that, by now, everyone who needs to knows that this year’s SXSW Conference & Festivals (its official name)—or 2019 “Spring Festival Season,” as the city calls it—started March 8 and continues through the weekend.

Similarly, those attending SXSW 2019 or avoiding it have a grasped and grokked the concept that most downtown streets are either closed for the festival or so jammed up they’re not worth venturing down (at least not in a car). Luckily, the city issues a (moderately) handy street closures map to help (see the updated one, below) with that.

Those changes will be in effect through Sunday.

Those of you who are not going to the festivals—who are, in fact, trying to avoid it altogether, in fact, still need to pay attention, however. Specifically, if you are traveling on I-35 through the middle of town, be aware that southbound I-35 exits Eighth and Cesar Chavez streets will be closed from 10 a.m. until 3 a.m. daily through Saturday, March 16. In addition, expect heavy traffic and delays along that stretch.

In addition to the closure map below, see Curbed Austin’s How to get around SXSW guide or go to City Stage (the city’s branded events site) for an interactive map where one can filter festival travel information by date and select data layers, including applicable Capital Metro routes, special routes, and stops, as well as locations of Austin B-Cycle kiosks and lots of other helpful transit intel.