City council members, Austinites and dogs took their first steps on new sections added to Lady Bird Lake’s Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail on Saturday.
The Wishbone Bridge and Unity Underpass were added to fill a gap in the trail, allowing pedestrians to cross Lady Bird Lake without detouring to Pleasant Valley Road, a bridge adjacent to the trail. The city said the new additions will make the trail safer and give it more access to nature.
“It makes it a lot safer and a lot more pleasant,” civil engineering junior Oliver Harrington, who has frequented the trail, said. “It’s quieter. There’s more space for both pedestrians and cyclists.”
The $25 million additions were funded by a 2020 Mobility Bond and a federal grant that Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Austin) office applied for. Construction began in July 2024.
With design discussions beginning in 2018, the bridge’s final Y-shape was approved after community members voted on different designs. The structure today completes the 10-mile loop around Lady Bird Lake and connects Longhorn Shores, Canterbury Park and Holly Peninsula with a 65-feet wide plaza at its center. The bridge includes bike racks, a shaded plaza at its center and 31 maraca-shaped art benches commissioned by the Trail Conservancy.
Laurie Thering, project manager in the city’s capital delivery service department, said adding the new sections were a “once in a career” kind of project.
“You know you’re doing something for the community that will be for lifetimes to come,” Thering said. “We work here every day, and we see these people so close to the road, and I think it really gave the contractors and the team initiative to finish.”
The new additions come after the completion of the Butler Trail Boardwalk in 2014, a roughly $28 million effort that closed a gap along the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. The Hike-and-Bike Trail receives over four million visits per year, according to the Trail Conservancy, an organization dedicated to the maintenance and development of the Hike-and-Bike Trail.
The Unity Underpass grants access to Longhorn Shores Park and replaces a tunnel with a 30-feet wide crossing with lighting and artwork created by more than 200 local residents. A mural features mosaics of Austin-inspired scenery requested by community members.