"Because this section of Mesa Drive was last resurfaced about 20 years ago, the City's standards have changed, requiring updates to the street design." That sentence on the City of Austin's Mesa Drive project page explains most of what drivers have seen on Mesa between Spicewood Springs Road and Far West Boulevard since summer.
Mesa was repaved in July and August 2026. Repaving removes the old pavement markings, and the City puts down new ones that meet current standards. The street had gone two decades between repaves, so the gap between the old lines and today's rules was large. Part of the new layout is required by City rules, and the rest the City chose to add while the pavement was fresh. Where Mesa meets Spicewood Springs Road, a second and much larger project is still underway. Its finish date has moved to summer 2027.
Which Mesa Changes Were Required and Which Were Added
The City's page sorts the redesign into two groups. The first group is required by the City Transportation Criteria Manual:
- Narrower travel lanes. Lanes shrink from 16 feet to between 11 and 12 feet.
- Parking and bike lanes kept apart. On-street parking moves to the east side of Mesa only, separated from the bike lane, because the manual gives parking and biking separate space.
The second group is changes the City says it made for long-term safety and mobility, based on data and community input.
- Four new pedestrian crossing islands.
- Asphalt speed cushions in place of the existing rubber ones.
- Painted buffers on the bike lanes on both sides of the street.
- Safety improvements at the Spicewood Springs Road and Mesa Drive intersection.
The street still has one travel lane in each direction. The difference is lane width. Trimming each lane by four to five feet is what frees the space, and the new 11-to-12-foot lanes leave room for the bike buffers and a separate parking lane on the east side.
The Numbers Behind the Narrower Lanes
The City's speed and crash data for this stretch of Mesa explains why it added more than the required changes.
| Measure | What the City reported |
|---|---|
| Speed Management ranking, 2025 | 12th of 878 streets evaluated citywide, based on measured speeds, traffic volume and crash history |
| Drivers over the speed limit, 2026 data | About 50% |
| Crashes on this segment, 2016 to 2025 | More than 125, per Vision Zero |
| Daily pedestrians | Roughly 250 to 475 |
| Daily cyclists | Roughly 150 to 250 |
Out of 878 streets the City reviewed, only 11 ranked as a higher speeding and crash risk than this stretch of Mesa in 2025. The daily counts also show heavy foot and bike traffic. On a busy day, the City's upper estimates put more than 700 people on this stretch of Mesa on foot or by bike, on pavement that had last been resurfaced about 20 years ago.
What Neighbors' Feedback Changed
The City held two rounds of community engagement in spring and summer 2026. In Phase 1, 64% of survey respondents named at least one concern about the street. Nearly 40% listed excessive speeding as their top concern.
The Phase 2 survey asked people to react to a proposed design, and the response was mostly negative: 31% supported it and 65% did not. The City revised the plan in two ways:
- Fewer crossings. Twice as many participants supported the proposed pedestrian crossings as opposed them. About 70 comments still said there were too many, so the final design has four new crossings instead of eight.
- Fewer flexible posts. Vertical bike-lane protection was scaled back after feedback in both phases. Posts will go only at speed cushions and pedestrian crossings.
The lane widths and the separate parking lane were never up for a vote, because the Criteria Manual requires them. Feedback shaped the parts the City had chosen to add. That explains why the final design still looks a lot like the version most Phase 2 respondents opposed. The required pieces stayed, and the optional ones were cut back.
The City scheduled roadwork on Mesa, including at the Spicewood Springs intersection, for September and October, and it noted that the schedule could change. The project page still lists the work as "Active construction," so some crews, cones or lane shifts may still be out as November starts.
The Other Half of the Intersection
Mesa's repave is mostly paint, islands and cushions. The project that ends at Mesa's Spicewood Springs intersection is much bigger. The Spicewood Springs Road regional mobility project covers Spicewood Springs from Loop 360 to Mesa Drive, with $31 million from the 2016 Mobility Bond. According to Community Impact, the work widens the road from two lanes to four with left-turn bays. It also adds two water detention ponds and shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists, and it upgrades storm drains, water transmission and wastewater lines.
The schedule has moved:
- December 2023: Construction began.
- July 2026: Community Impact reported that substantial completion was still expected in late 2026. Traffic south of Adirondack Trail had been shifted west, and one lane in each direction remained from Adirondack Trail to the top of the hill. That is the most recent detailed lane description, so the current setup may differ.
- August 11, 2026: The City's update said weather delays in spring and early summer had pushed substantial completion to summer 2027.
- September 2026: Shared-use path work was scheduled to begin on both sides of Spicewood Springs Road.
- Fall 2026: Crews continue work on rain gardens and paving the travel lanes.
- Summer 2027: The current target for substantial completion.
Under that schedule, the Spicewood Springs side of the corridor will have active work zones into next summer, even though Mesa's redesign was planned around a two-month window this fall.
Planning Trips Through the Corridor This Season
Work hours affect daily trips more than the completion date does. The City lists Spicewood Springs roadwork on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Weekday work starts after the morning rush and ends before the evening one. Weekend work runs longer, which can affect Saturday errands and trips to Loop 360. The City asks drivers to follow the posted work-zone speed limit and allow extra time.
On Mesa, expect to park on the east side only. Bike lanes now run along both curbs, and the four crossing islands mark where people on foot cross the street. The asphalt speed cushions replace the old rubber ones on the same street, so the stretch may feel different to drive even where the cushions sit in familiar spots.
For the latest closures on either project, the City's mobility bond team takes questions at 512-974-2300 or [email protected]. Both projects also keep their updates on the Mesa Drive page and the Spicewood Springs project page. The next dated Spicewood update should show whether the summer 2027 target still holds.
Street changes like these shape daily life in Northwest Hills, from parking to how you cross Mesa on foot. If you'd like help understanding how the Mesa and Spicewood Springs work affects a home on these streets, The Weiss Group is glad to talk it through. Work With Us.
