The city of Austin is planning a transformative redesign of downtown’s historic Congress Avenue, targeted to start in early 2026.
The Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative (CAUDI), led by the city in partnership with the Downtown Austin Alliance, will initially focus on the stretch from César Chávez Street to 7th Street.
Phase one will expand sidewalks, improve pedestrian zones, install upgraded bike barriers, enhance street-tree health and add dedicated turn lanes along the selected blocks. The construction cost for the first phase is approximately $13 million, funded by the city’s 2020 Mobility Bond. Work will proceed in roughly three-month segments per city block while maintaining pedestrian access. Construction is planned to start in early 2026 and continue into 2027.
The full vision for Congress Avenue spans the roughly 1.2-mile stretch between 11th Street and Riverside Drive. Future components include pedestrian plazas on the blocks between 7th and 11th streets and streetscape improvements. The full buildout was estimated at $130 million, according to previous planning documents. Construction timelines for future phases have not been determined and are dependent on securing funding.
Design work has progressed through the vision and preliminary design stages, with the city’s Active Transportation and Street Design division advancing toward construction procurement. Planning and community engagement for later phases will continue, with funding strategies and legislative review still in development.
Photo by Stuart Seeger from San Antonio, Texas, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, from Wikimedia Commons