Press release from the city of Austin:
A scheduled rally near the State Capitol featuring presidential candidate Barack Obama will result in various street closures in downtown Austin on Friday, Feb. 22.
Congress Avenue from 11th Street to 10th Street, and 11th Street from Colorado Street to Brazos Street will be closed to traffic beginning at midnight this evening.
Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, the Congress Avenue closure will be extended to an area from 11th Street to 8th Street. The 11th Street closure will be extended from Brazos to San Jacinto Boulevard.
In addition, the following cross streets will be affected beginning at 6 p.m.:
– Colorado from 11th to 9th Street
– 10th Street from Lavaca Street to Brazos.
– 9th Street from Colorado to Brazos.
Those planning to attend are advised to expect a large number of people in the downtown area in the hours leading up to the 9 p.m. event. Downtown parking will be extremely limited in the immediate vicinity of the rally.
All downtown streets are expected to reopen to traffic by 3 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23.
Capital Metro will also be affected. See press release from them after the jump:
Capital Metro Service Affected by Obama Rally
Capitol Transfer Center Closed, Many Routes Detoured
Austin, Texas, February 21, 2008 – Due to street closures in the Capitol area for the Sen. Barack Obama rally on Friday, Feb. 22, Capital Metro buses will not be serving the
Capitol Transfer Center and portions of Congress Avenue starting at midnight tonight.
Detours will be initiated in two phases. Phase One will begin at 12 a.m. and last until approximately 5 p.m. Friday.
Northbound routes will transfer at 10th and Congress and southbound routes will transfer at 9th and Congress.
Phase Two will begin between 5 and 6 p.m. Friday and last until the streets are reopened around 3 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23.
Northbound routes will transfer at 6th and Brazos or on 6th Street west of Congress. Routes will continue on Lavaca back to regular routes. Southbound buses will transfer between 6th and 7th Streets on Congress Avenue. Routes will use Guadalupe from areas south of the Capitol to 7th Street.
More detailed information on detours is available at www.capmetro.org.
These detours are subject to change based on city street closures. Advance notice may not always be possible.
This article appears in February 15 • 2008.