Seeing Red
Austin, prepare for traffic as Red River undergoes construction — again

Remember when Red River Street was shut down for what felt like years? Oh wait, it was. While one of Austin's key thoroughfares is once again undergoing construction, this project is luckily only slated to take a few months.
With a cost of $130,000 (with $75K provided by Capital Metro), the intersection of Red River and 45th streets is undergoing a series of improvements designed to make it safer for drivers, pedestrians, and those who use public transit.
The projects currently on the docket include:
- The creation of dedicated left turn signals on 45th Street, which will separate the left-turning drivers from through traffic.
- A shared left turn lane on 45th Street, running from Red River Street to Bennett Avenue.
- Better timed traffic lights. (Hooray!)
- New southeast corner curb to protect CapMetro buses while turning.
- Two new high-visibility crosswalks.
- New signal heads and a new signal pole.
Though the timeline says construction should be completed by the end of the summer, the City of Austin says that may change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
The intersection of 45th and Red River streets is the latest high-crash intersection to be redesigned using funds from the $15 million 2016 Mobility Bond. "This particular intersection has been a routing challenge for many years, and with this work we’ll be able to provide the community with better service through this neighborhood,” said Todd Hemingson, executive VP of planning and development at CapMetro, in a statement.
In June 2016, the City of Austin identified 28 high-risk intersections throughout the city on the Top Crash Location Intersection Priorities list. The 45th and Red River intersection, which is at the No. 27 spot, will the fourth project to be funded under the bond.