On Sunday, Aug. 30, Loop 360 drivers near the Pennybacker Bridge drove past Westlake Drive and Cedar Street without stopping at either signal. That was a first for this stretch. The next morning, farther up Loop 360 at RM 2222, TxDOT's announced traffic pattern sent eastbound drivers bound for southbound 360 to a right turn at the signal instead of the entrance ramp they had always used.
Those two changes landed a day apart, but they sit at opposite ends of a long timeline. Westlake Drive/Cedar Street is TxDOT's oldest active Loop 360 job and is scheduled to finish in late 2026. Courtyard Drive/RM 2222 broke ground in April and runs into late 2029. The signal-free Loop 360 is being built one interchange at a time. The south end is close to done and the north end is in its first phase. For anyone who uses 360 daily, the Westlake opening shows how the finished road works, and the next three years at Courtyard are what it costs to get there.
How the new lanes at Westlake Drive and Cedar Street work
TxDOT opened one mainlane in each direction, which runs under both cross streets. These four rules cover the pattern:
- Stay in the left lane to pass both signals without stopping.
- Exit right if you need Westlake Drive or Cedar Street. The connector roads still serve both cross streets.
- Use the Westlake Drive bridge for a U-turn. Its non-signalized U-turns reach both northbound and southbound Loop 360.
- The southbound U-turn south of Bold Ruler Way is still open.
This opening was a single lane each way, not the finished road. Mainlane construction continues between Bold Ruler Way and the Pennybacker Bridge through late 2026. Excavation runs weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and hauling happens overnight. TxDOT says the whole project should wrap up in late 2026, weather permitting.
Westlake took more than four years to reach this point. Courtyard is six months in.
The Westlake numbers set expectations for the north end. Construction there began in June 2022, so it took about four years and two months to get from groundbreaking to signal-free through lanes. Westlake residents lived with that whole stretch before Aug. 30 arrived.
Courtyard Drive/RM 2222 is at month six. Crews broke ground on April 29, 2026, on a project budgeted at $68.4 million. It covers almost a mile, from Courtyard Drive to RM 2222. The finished design takes the signal off the Loop 360 mainlanes at Courtyard Drive with an underpass, where 360 drops below the cross street just as it now does at Westlake Drive. It also rebuilds the RM 2222 junction as a diverging diamond interchange and adds shared-use paths and sidewalks. One earlier news account called the Courtyard structure an overpass. TxDOT's project page and KXAN's September coverage both call it an underpass.
TxDOT expects to finish in late 2029. The contractor is Webber, and the work is split into four phases:
- Phase 1: set up the work zone, build waterlines and excavate the cliffs. KXAN reports this phase is expected to last until summer 2027.
- Phase 2: build new northbound and southbound connector roads, drainage, braided ramps and the Courtyard Drive bridge, and start the shared-use paths.
- Phase 3: build the RM 2222 diverging diamond and finish the shared-use paths.
- Phase 4: final paving and striping, then open the permanent traffic pattern.
The Courtyard project's history goes back further than the groundbreaking. TxDOT held a public hearing on Oct. 6, 2020, and environmental clearance came in spring 2021. Counting from that hearing to the late-2029 finish date, the job spans about nine years. The diverging diamond, the piece that changes how RM 2222 traffic gets onto and off 360, comes in Phase 3, after the Courtyard bridge.
The ramp change at RM 2222 is the first one drivers will notice
During Phase 1, the most visible change for drivers is at the RM 2222 ramps. TxDOT's traffic-shift map says that starting Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, eastbound RM 2222 drivers heading to southbound Loop 360 skip the old entrance ramp and turn right at the RM 2222 signal. The northbound Loop 360 exit ramp to RM 2222 also gets new lane assignments: left turn only, left turn or straight, and right turn only.
TxDOT's live project page still describes the ramp closure in future tense, and no local news report has independently confirmed when it took effect. As of this writing, the page also says there are no lane closures. If you make the RM 2222 to southbound 360 move every morning, check the posted signs and TxDOT's map before you count on the old ramp.
On the northbound exit, pick your lane earlier than you used to. Each lane now has a set movement, so a late lane change at the bottom of the ramp will be harder.
What six days a week looks like on Courtyard Drive
The people living closest to the work describe it in concrete terms. In September, KXAN reported that residents of the Courtyard neighborhood are dealing with near-constant drilling, dust and vibration from construction a few feet from their homes, with crews working six days a week, often from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
TxDOT's official hours match that report. Work happens on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and, as needed, on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The agency warns that neighbors and businesses may notice more noise, vibration and dust during excavation and night work. The Saturday window starts two hours earlier than Westlake's Saturday excavation window.
TxDOT doesn't expect any utility interruptions, but it lists provider numbers for anyone with questions. Those are AT&T at 800-288-2020, Austin Energy at 512-322-9100 and Texas Gas at 800-959-5325.
The middle of Loop 360 has no construction date
Here the timeline gets longer. Loop 360 runs about 14 miles through West Austin, and TxDOT treats its upgrades as part of the Texas Clear Lanes congestion relief program. TxDOT lists five projects on the corridor. Only one has new mainlanes open, and that one isn't finished yet.
| Loop 360 project | Status as of early October 2026 | Expected finish |
|---|---|---|
| Westlake Drive/Cedar Street | Under construction since June 2022; one signal-free mainlane each way opened Aug. 30 | Late 2026 |
| Courtyard Drive/RM 2222 | Under construction since April 2026; in Phase 1 | Late 2029 |
| Lakewood Drive/Spicewood Springs Road | Not started; utility relocation comes first; depends on funding | Construction could start as early as 2029; no finish date listed |
| MoPac to RM 2244, including Walsh Tarlton Lane and Lost Creek Boulevard/Westbank Drive | Environmental work since fall 2019; construction depends on funding | No date listed |
| RM 2244/Bee Cave Road | Waiting on more funding | No date listed |
The table shows how the work overlaps. Lakewood Drive/Spicewood Springs Road could start construction as early as 2029, the same year Courtyard is scheduled to finish. Even if funding arrives on that schedule, the corridor will still have an active work zone after the Courtyard underpass opens. The projects at Walsh Tarlton, Lost Creek and Bee Cave Road have no construction start date at all.
For a commuter between Westlake and Northwest Austin, that means the Westlake improvement is in place now and arrived first. The Courtyard and RM 2222 improvement is about three years away. Beyond that, TxDOT hasn't scheduled anything.
Driving Loop 360 this month
- Sunday, Oct. 4 through Thursday, Oct. 8, 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.: the left lane of the northbound and southbound Loop 360 connector road is closed between the Pennybacker Bridge and the Shell gas station. Through traffic in the new mainlanes avoids the connector road entirely.
- Westlake Drive or Cedar Street trips: exit right early. The new mainlanes don't connect to either cross street.
- RM 2222 to southbound 360: plan on the right turn at the signal, not the old entrance ramp.
- Lane closures change often: TxDOT updates closure notices on its Courtyard Drive/RM 2222 project page and its Westlake Drive/Cedar Street project page. Both are worth checking before a night drive.
KXAN's report on the Courtyard neighborhood gives the clearest picture of the work for the households right next to it. TxDOT's construction info sheet and traffic control exhibits on the project page show the planned phase layouts for anyone who wants the details.
When you're weighing a home anywhere along the 360 corridor, construction schedules matter as much as the floor plan. A street near Courtyard Drive will look different in 2029 than it does this fall, and an address near Lakewood or Spicewood Springs could be heading into its own construction years after that. Jeff Joseph can lay out the active TxDOT projects next to any address you're considering in Austin or the Westlake side, so you know how the drive works today and when it's scheduled to change. Let's Connect.
