East Austin's Trail Map Is Tilting Toward Shady Lane This Fall

A steel truss bridge now spans the Boggy Creek channel. Heavy equipment and construction signs still crowd both banks. Community Impact photographed it in mid-September, calling it the "final piece" of the MoKan Trail. The city expects it to be finished by late 2026. No opening date has been posted yet.

A few miles west, the change runs the other way. As early as Sunday, Oct. 18, TxDOT will close the south-shore Butler Trail boardwalk at I-35. Access along part of it will stay limited until early 2027.

Put the two together and the car-free map of East Austin is leaning in one direction. The permanent new links this fall point east and north, toward Shady Lane, Springdale Road and the Walnut Creek trail system. The routes toward Lady Bird Lake are where the detours are piling up, and they will last longer than one season.

The bridge that turns Shady Lane into a junction

The MoKan Trail follows part of the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad. Once finished, its 1.5 miles will link the bike path on Pedernales Street to the Southern Walnut Creek Trail system. The city's Transportation and Public Works department names Shady Lane as the point where it meets Southern Walnut Creek.

Part of the trail already exists. A private developer built a quarter-mile segment that opened in January 2023. The city is building the rest in five phases. Phases 1, 2, 3A and 4 are done. Phase 3B is still in design, with construction expected to start this fall. The developer's piece runs from Springdale Road to Shady Lane. KXAN reported back in 2022 that it sits behind the Trailhead Apartments.

Phase 5 is the bridge, and it is the piece that matters most. City crews started the shared-use trail segment and the Boggy Creek crossing in January. Officials say finishing it will close a "key gap" in the trail. Safety improvements at the Springdale Road crossing just east of the bridge were scheduled to begin in late September. The phase costs $5.6 million, paid for by the 2020 Mobility Bond and by Community Project Funding that U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett secured. The city's project page estimates about 10 months of construction. Counting from January, that lands right around the "late 2026" window.

In the city's 2023 preliminary design, the bridge sits between Sellers Street and Lyons Road, with trail continuing from the creek toward Bolm Road. The city labeled that alignment preliminary and subject to change, so the finished route may differ.

What sits on the far side

The bridge matters because of what waits past Shady Lane. The city's Walnut Creek Trail System page describes the Southern Walnut Creek Trail as 8.7 miles long. It runs from Govalle Park to Walnut Creek Sports Park at Johnny Morris Road and Daffan Lane. Austin Parks and Recreation gives a shorter figure of more than 7.3 miles. Its list of connections includes Govalle Park, the YMCA at Hwy. 183, Davis White Park, the Walnut Creek Greenbelt, the Austin Tennis Center and Phase I of the Austin-to-Manor Trail. The city also says the MoKan corridor is meant to connect people to parks, schools, grocery stores and the Cepeda Branch Library.

Shady Lane shows up again in the city's longer-range plans. The planned Cesar Chavez Street and Red Bluff Road safety project runs from Pleasant Valley Road to Shady Lane. It includes protected bike lanes, better bus stops and crossings, and a dual-path urban trail extension. A community survey closed May 11, detailed design is waiting on a review of that feedback, and completion is expected in 2028–29 at a cost of $6.2 million. The MoKan bridge is the first of several projects aimed at the same corner of the map.

The Springdale bus loop arrived, then detoured

Transit along the same corridor is being rebuilt too, though more slowly than planned. On Sunday, Aug. 16, CapMetro launched a two-way loop on Route 2 along Springdale Road. The service-change notice said the route would detour at first, until October, and skip Springdale between Airport Boulevard and East 7th Street while city construction was underway.

October is here and the detour is still in place. As of Oct. 7, CapMetro's closed-stops list still shows Route 2 detours at Springdale/Airport, Springdale/Govalle, 7th/Springdale and nearby stops. Those entries began 09/09/2026, and the end date reads "TBD." For anyone planning to use the new loop, that list is the place to watch, since it will change before any announcement does.

The same service change moved Route 217 off Montopolis Drive and onto Vargas Road. It still connects to Riverside, Esperanza Crossing and the Eastside Bus Plaza. To the north, Airport Boulevard signal work was active at 51st Street and Springdale Road in late summer, with completion expected in late 2026.

Heading west, the crossings get tighter

The routes from East Austin toward downtown and the lake tell a different story. Most of them cross I-35, and the I-35 Capital Express Central project now controls their timing.

MLK Jr. Boulevard bridge. This is the one success on the I-35 side, though it isn't quite finished. The rebuilt bridge has been fully operational for drivers since two lanes reopened in each direction in early August. The $34.4 million project adds sidewalks, shade structures and a safety barrier. The Austin Chronicle reported in August that crews had started on the shared-use paths, wider sidewalks and pedestrian and cyclist barriers. TxDOT expected that work to finish "in the next month or so." TxDOT's project page gives late 2026 for overall completion and says pedestrian access is being kept open during construction. No public notice yet confirms the new paths are open.

Woodland Avenue. Woodland under I-35 is closed. So is northbound frontage road access north of Riverside Drive. The boat passage under the Lady Bird Lake bridge is narrowed to 75 feet. TxDOT expects to finish the whole Lady Bird Lake segment in 2033. The plan replaces the old Woodland vehicle crossing with a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists only. KUT reported in January that construction on it could start as early as 2029. That is a possible start date, not an opening date.

The south-shore boardwalk. Here is how the Oct. 18 closure works, based on the city's Oct. 2 notice:

1. As early as Sunday, Oct. 18, TxDOT closes the south-shore boardwalk at I-35 for one week to build a pedestrian bridge.
2. During that week, trail users can get on from South Lakeshore Boulevard east of I-35 or at the trail entrance west of I-35.
3. After that week, access along part of the boardwalk stays limited through early 2027 while the pedestrian bridge east of I-35 is built.
4. The path under the I-35 bridge stays open to trail users the whole time.

The north shore. A completely full lake loop is off the table this season. Since June, the Butler Trail has been rerouted on the north shore near the Confluence and the Austin Rowing Club building. Austin Energy is installing underground electrical lines along the shoreline between Brazos Street and Trinity Street, and the reroute runs through March 2027. So both shores near downtown carry construction detours this fall.

Roy G. Guerrero Park is in a double reroute right now

To the southeast, the trail at Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Metropolitan Park has been rerouted near the east side of its new pedestrian bridge since July 20. Austin Water is reinstalling a reclaimed water line there, and that reroute lasts until late May 2027. A second reroute east of the bridge runs from Oct. 1 through Friday, Oct. 17. The parks department asks visitors to slow down and follow signs and staff directions. The short reroute ends the day before the Butler boardwalk closure is set to begin.

The fall calendar, in order

The next big projects follow the same pattern. Reconstruction of East 51st Street from I-35 to Berkman Drive will add protected bike lanes, new crossings, landscaping and public art. Design reached 90% at a June 13 open house, and construction is expected to start next summer. The $17 million project comes from the 2012 mobility bond, so it will break ground nearly 15 years after voters approved it. The city's renderings show wide sidewalks and medians linking Windsor Park and Mueller. Like the MoKan bridge and the Shady Lane work, it is East Austin connecting to itself rather than to downtown.

Knowing which trailhead, bus loop or bike connection sits near a home is part of understanding what that home is worth to the people who live in it. If you're wondering how a finished MoKan Trail or a rebuilt corridor nearby might fit into the value of your East Austin home, Kaili Cox would be glad to walk you through it. Request a free home valuation and we'll start with your street.