Winter Not So Wonderful

Road closures, airport delays, and power outages caused by Austin's icy weather

Austin has experienced multiple road closures, power outages, and more due to winter weather.

Winter is back again in Central Texas and bringing with it threats of snow, sleet, and freezing rain throughout the day. A winter storm warning is currently in effect for the Austin metro area and will last until 6 pm on Tuesday.

Accidents and road closures

9:08 am — I-35 is iced over in Kyle, Texas. Avoid travel today if possible, according to the Kyle Fire Department.

8:53 am — Multiple lane closures eastbound and westbound at Slaughter Lane and Bilbrook Place, just east of Manchaca Road. Find an alternate route.

8:41 am — The upper deck of I-35 is now open in both directions, according to the City of Austin.

8:07 am — Austin police said they are now working 20 collisions throughout the city. 35th Street over MoPac is iced over.

7:17 am —Fifteen collisions are being worked throughout the city, according to Austin police. There are road closures at the Ben White flyover to I-35 and 290 eastbound flyover to I-35 northbound due to ice.

6:28 am —Accident reported on 290 westbound after Springdale Road.

6:20 am — Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody is reporting a minor collision due to ice in Coupland in the 12600 block of SH 95.

6:15 am — 290 westbound at Highway 360 has reopened.

6:14 am — U.S. 183 north to north and southbound MoPac split are closed. North MoPac to Research ramp to 183 is also closed, Travis County Emergency Services said.

6:14 am —Austin police said they are working three collisions throughout the city. U.S. 45 westbound at the 183 upper deck is closed in both directions. Highway U.S. 183 eastbound to 130 northbound is reportedly iced over.

5:43 am — U.S. 183 at MoPac is closed due to reported ice.

5:40 am — Parmer Lane and the Brushy Creek bridge is iced over, according to Cedar Park Police.

5:38 am — Austin police said the 5700 block of SH 45 is completely iced over.

5:27 am —Austin police blocked 71 eastbound at 130 northbound ramp due to the icy conditions and a reported crash.

5:24 am — Road blocked on 290 westbound at Highway 360 due to icy conditions.

5:23 am —Icing reported on ramp, currently blocked in Austin on TX-71 eastbound at TX-130 Toll.

5:14 am — Car slides and crashes into wall at 71 eastbound at 130 ramp.

4:46 am — TxDOT reports ice on Highway 45 toll westbound near I-35 towards Round Rock.

3:49 am — Crash on Anderson Mill and RM 620.

3:06 am — Traffic injury reported at La Vista Street and South Congress Avenue.

1:26 am —Accident reported on North Lamar Boulevard at West Fifth Street.

12:21 am —Accident reported on Dessau Road at East Parmer Lane.

12:02 am — Accident reported on Southwest Parkway at Foster Ranch Road.

11:22 pm —Austin Fire Department reports traffic injury at 5604 Southwest Parkway.

9:35 pm — Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody reported multiple accidents at FM 620 and Texas 45 and the Parmer Lane area due to wet roadways.

Outages

At 6:53 am, Austin Energy reported a power outage at Dessau and Braker Lane, affecting more than 1,600 people.

Click here for a power outage map from Oncor.

Click here for a power outage map from Austin Energy.

Click here for a power outage map from PEC.

Click here for a power outage map from Bluebonnet Electric.

Flights from ABIA, road conditions, and CapMetro

As of 6 am, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport confirms there are 61 canceled departure flights and 13 arrival flights canceled.

Southwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines has canceled all flights until noon Tuesday. They will shuttle passengers from ABIA to Dallas Love Field Airport at 6 am, 8 am, 10 am, and noon. The buses will be marked Southwest Airlines and will load and leave from the arrival level.

Click here to view ABIA flight status.

Click here for road conditions across Texas from TxDOT.

Cap Metro said it's operating on a Sunday service Tuesday, which means no MetroRail or Metro Express.

Click here to see the Capital Metro schedule.

Click here for the latest traffic conditions in Austin.

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To stay up to date on all road closures, ABIA information, and power outages, head over to KVUE.

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Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

animals downtown civic issues