The Signals Are Gone From Loop 360 at Westlake Drive. The Project Isn't.

On Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, TxDOT opened one new Loop 360 mainlane in each direction under Westlake Drive and Cedar Street. Through drivers now pass below both cross streets without stopping at a signal. KXAN reported the opening two days ahead and described it as part of a project that "removed traffic signals from the main lanes by adding bridges at both intersections."

Commuters passing through got the biggest share of that change. Residents who turn onto Westlake Drive or Cedar Street, or who need to reverse direction on 360, have a different route than before. It isn't the final route yet. The configuration TxDOT will leave behind is still being built.

How the Interim Layout Works

TxDOT's project page describes the current setup in a few lines. In practice, it works out to four kinds of trips:

1. Passing through. Stay in the left lane. It runs under Westlake Drive and Cedar Street without stopping.
2. Turning onto Westlake Drive or Cedar Street. Exit right onto the connector road. That road still handles all access to both cross streets.
3. Reversing direction. Use the non-signalized U-turns on the Westlake Drive bridge. They connect to both northbound and southbound Loop 360.
4. Southbound, farther south. The southbound U-turn south of Bold Ruler Way remains open, according to TxDOT's press release as reported by KXAN.

The new lanes carry one lane each way, not the full mainlane section the project calls for. KLBJ's coverage listed what remained after the opening: completing the northbound and southbound mainlanes, final paving, striping, and the move to permanent traffic patterns.

The Local Trip Is Where the Change Shows

For anyone headed to a home or errand off Westlake Drive, the old light has been replaced by a sequence of moves: an exit, a connector road, and possibly a U-turn on a bridge. That sequence is the project's design. TxDOT says the Westlake Drive bridge U-turns replace the signalized turnarounds for moving between northbound and southbound 360.

The construction period before the opening was more roundabout. In June 2025, Community Impact described the detours then in effect. Westbound Westlake Drive drivers went by way of Cedar Street and a U-turn. Eastbound drivers used a signal near the Shell station at 3310 N. Capital of Texas Hwy. and then made a U-turn. Compared with that, the bridge U-turns are a more direct route, even though the full build-out isn't finished.

No one has published how much time the new layout saves. Neither KXAN nor KLBJ included a measured post-opening travel time, and TxDOT's page doesn't report one. For now, the only measure is how a given resident's own commute feels.

One neighborhood concern predates the opening and still applies. At a February 2025 community session, residents raised the issue of drivers cutting through Davenport Ranch when Loop 360 backs up. TxDOT's written response said it would coordinate with the City of Austin on possible solutions and also noted that it cannot control where drivers travel. While the mainlanes carry one lane each way, any backup on them can still push traffic onto local streets.

What "Late 2026" Still Has to Cover

Construction started in June 2022. TxDOT's current completion estimate is "late 2026, weather permitting." TxDOT has pushed that date before. As recently as March 2026, Community Impact reported a mid-2026 finish. The August opening came near the end of that original window, and the remaining work moved into the fall.

TxDOT's phase list shows how much is still active:

Three phases are running at the same time, and Phase 5 can't start until they're done. "Late 2026" therefore covers a lot of remaining work, and the posted completion target is less than three months away.

The construction also has a sound schedule. TxDOT says mainlane work between Bold Ruler Way and the Pennybacker Bridge continues through late 2026. Excavation runs on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and hauling happens at night. The excavation is mostly limestone. In early 2025, TxDOT engineer William Semora estimated that about 155,000 cubic yards of rock would have to come out to lower the mainlanes. That is why trucks run overnight.

Short closures will keep coming. TxDOT's most recent posting closed the left lane of both connector roads between the Pennybacker Bridge and the Shell station from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 4 through Thursday, Oct. 8. The total project cost is $72.1 million.

The Paths Are the Part Residents Haven't Seen Yet

The paths are the part of the project people can use without a car. TxDOT's February 2025 community Q&A describes shared-use paths along the mainlanes. They are 10 feet wide, generally set 5 feet back from the curb and gutter, and unstriped, so cyclists and pedestrians share the full width. Each of the Westlake Drive and Cedar Street bridges also gets a protected east-west shared-use path.

Some sections are narrower. KUT reported in 2022 that parts of the east-side path were planned at 8 feet with a 2-foot buffer where they pass rock cliffs and the Westlake Drive right turns.

The shared-use paths are still listed under ongoing Phase 2. TxDOT hasn't given a separate opening date for them. The bridge crossings are the part to watch. They will provide a protected way to walk or bike across Loop 360 at both cross streets, which the old signalized intersections didn't have.

The Pennybacker Bridge isn't changing. TxDOT's Q&A says the bridge stays intact and gets nothing beyond routine maintenance. The Pennybacker Bridge boat ramp is about a mile north of Cedar Street. Community Impact has reported construction-period warnings against parking on sidewalks, medians, and work zones near it.

After Cedar Street, the Work Moves Up the Corridor

When Westlake Drive and Cedar Street are finished, the stretch of Loop 360 that West Lake Hills residents drive every day won't be done. TxDOT is treating the corridor as a series of signal-removal projects, and the next ones are already underway or scheduled:

Community Impact reported that ground was broken at Courtyard Drive and RM 2222 on April 29, 2026. That means a second Loop 360 construction zone opened four months before the first one opened its new lanes.

The Bee Cave Road end of the corridor has no schedule. TxDOT's separate RM 2244 page says the intersection project will go forward when more funding becomes available. For drivers headed south toward Walsh Tarlton Lane and Bee Cave Road, the signals are staying for now. On TxDOT's current schedules, some section of Loop 360 between the river and RM 2222 will be under construction until at least late 2029.

West Lake Hills has a separate infrastructure meeting coming up. The city's calendar lists a neighbor update on work at the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, including sound mitigation, at City Hall on Oct. 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Road projects like this one change how long it takes to get to the places you go every day. That's part of how we compare streets and homes on the west side. If you'd like to talk through how the Loop 360 schedule affects your own plans over the next few years, Lewis Group would be glad to help. Contact Us.