Traffic along a major Central Texas highway corridor is at a standstill after a gravel spill completely shut down all lanes.
The Texas Department of Transportation’s Austin District confirmed just before 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, that all lanes of Eastbound State Highway 71 at Montopolis Drive in Southeast Austin were closed due to that spill. State transportation officials urged commuters to seek alternative routes and to expect delays in the surrounding area.
Over on traffic monitoring site SigAlert, the online transportation resource revealed that the incident had first been reported just before 2:20 p.m. Thursday. As of nearly 3:40 p.m., live data reported traffic was backed up to Burleson Road, as well as impacting traffic at East Riverside Drive.
Alternative routes suggested included taking Menchaca Road to avoid the spill. SigAlert analysts anticipated delays of up to 20 minutes for those caught in the incident area.