South Lamar Boulevard, one of Austin's busiest and most dangerous corridors, is finally getting the safety upgrades voters funded nearly a decade ago. The city is moving to hire a contractor for a 1.5-mile reconstruction between US 290 and Montclaire Street that will add protected bike lanes, ADA-compliant shared-use paths, new sidewalks, and rebuilt bus stops to a stretch of road that has sat on Austin's Vision Zero high-injury network for years.
The project has been a long time coming. Austin voters approved a $720 million Mobility Bond in 2016 and then backed a $460 million transportation package in 2020, both of which targeted South Lamar as a priority corridor. In the years since, the corridor has seen community meetings, design fights over lane reductions and parking, and repeated delays as costs escalated on similar projects citywide. Meanwhile, Austin recorded a record 118 traffic deaths in 2023, keeping pressure on the city to accelerate.
The overhaul is more than a repaving job. Crews will shift curbs closer to the road's centerline, effectively narrowing vehicle travel lanes to carve out room for pedestrians and cyclists. The project also includes storm drain upgrades, water and wastewater line work, traffic signal improvements, new tree plantings, irrigation systems, and rain gardens designed to filter runoff that drains toward the Barton Springs and Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.
Source: NationGraph.
The transit piece matters too. Relocated and newly constructed bus stops along the corridor are designed to support enhanced MetroRapid service as Austin continues rolling out Project Connect, the $7.1 billion transit expansion voters approved in 2020.
South Lamar runs through some of South Austin's most transformed neighborhoods, from Zilker to Barton Hills, areas that have shifted from working-class enclaves into some of the city's priciest real estate. Businesses along the route, including longtime establishments that survived earlier construction disruptions on adjacent streets, have historically pushed back on designs that reduce parking or lanes. Those tensions are unlikely to disappear once construction begins.
The project is listed on Austin's solicitation portal, with bids due Aug. 20, 2026. Once a contractor is selected, the work will test whether Austin can execute the complete-streets vision it has promised South Lamar residents and commuters since the first bond vote passed.
