"Since the Austin Avenue bridges north of the Courthouse Square are reduced to one lane in each direction due to construction, event attendees may want to seek alternate routes." That sentence is on the City's own Lighting of the Square event page, right below the Austin Avenue closure times.
It applies to more than the lighting. The holiday season downtown runs from the switch-on the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. The bridge work's next scheduled change doesn't come until Dec. 28. Every crowded night on the Square between now and then happens with the bridges in their current setup. Once you know which streets close, which lots close and which nights stack up, getting in and out is a fairly simple plan.
Where the bridge work stands this week
The City is rehabilitating the historic Austin Avenue bridges over the North and South San Gabriel rivers, not replacing them. The work includes new bridge decks, safety-rated rails and required maintenance, and it was funded in the 2021 Road Bond. Crews are doing the southbound side first. The City's project log on ClearGov shows permanent metal decking forms going onto the North Bridge's southbound lanes as of Nov. 5.
The City's schedule from here:
| Date | What the City projects |
|---|---|
| Now through late December | Austin Avenue at one lane each way, with possible overnight full bridge closures |
| Dec. 28, 2026 | Southbound decks done on both bridges; traffic moves onto the southbound bridges and northbound work begins |
| July 16, 2027 | Construction substantially complete |
That July date has already moved. In June, Community Impact and the Williamson County Sun both reported that the bridges were expected to open to traffic in April 2027. Treat the dates above as the City's current projections, not promises. Before any trip that has to cross the river at a particular hour, check the City's street closures page.
If you're on foot or on a bike, the City keeps pedestrian access open across the river at the Randy Morrow Trail crossing while the vehicle bridges are under construction.
Two Friday nights put the most pressure on the bridges
The season's two biggest evenings fall a week apart, and both are Fridays.
Friday, Nov. 27: Lighting of the Square. Entertainment runs 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the east steps of the Williamson County Courthouse at 710 S. Main St., with the Uptown Carolers. Around 6 p.m., Georgetown Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Pitts and Williamson County Court Judge Steven Snell turn on the courthouse lights and the lights around the Square. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., Williamson County Brown Santa offers photos with Santa inside the courthouse for an unwrapped toy or a monetary donation. Enter on the south side, from Eighth Street. The City says many stores will stay open late.
The Palace Theatre is busy the same night. A Wonderful Life, The Musical opens on the Historic Springer Stage at 810 S. Austin Ave. at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27, so the theater crowd arrives about an hour after the lights come on.
Friday, Dec. 4: Christmas Stroll kickoff. The Stroll starts at 4 p.m. and runs until 9:30 p.m., and the downtown street closures begin at 5 a.m. that morning.
Here's how the closures compare on the two nights:
| Lighting, Nov. 27 | Stroll, Dec. 4–6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Avenue | Closed Sixth to Ninth, 6 a.m. to about 10 p.m. | Closed Sixth to Tenth, 5 a.m. Friday to midnight Monday |
| Main Street | Closed Sixth to Ninth, same hours | Closed Sixth to Tenth, same hours as Austin Avenue |
| Cross streets | Seventh and Eighth closed between Austin and Church | Sixth from Austin to Church; Seventh and Eighth from Rock to Church |
| Still open | Rock, Church and Ninth | Rock Street carries the Austin Avenue detour on parade morning |
The lighting closure lasts one day. The Stroll closure lasts three days, and Seventh and Eighth close further west, out to Rock Street. If you're driving down Austin Avenue from north of the river during the Stroll, you'll come across the one-lane bridges and reach a closed street before you get to the Square.
Stroll weekend, in order
The Downtown Georgetown Association calls this the 45th Annual Hometown Christmas Stroll, "A Season to Gather." It's free and spans three days around the Downtown Square. DGA advertises more than 200 artisan and boutique vendors and reports more than 72,000 attendees in 2025. That's a lot of people coming through a downtown whose northern approach is down to one lane each way.
- Thursday, Dec. 3. The parking lot at Sixth and Main closes for the whole event, Dec. 3 through Dec. 7.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 5 a.m. Austin Avenue, Main Street and the cross streets close.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 4 to 9:30 p.m. The Stroll Kickoff Celebration. LT and The Locals headline Friday.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 a.m. to noon. The Austin Avenue closure grows to run from Second to 11th Street for the parade, with the detour on Rock Street. The public garage at 502 S. Main St. closes for parade operations during the same hours, and vehicles already inside have to stay until it reopens.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. The Christmas Parade steps off, under the same theme as the Stroll.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. "A Day to Gather," the longest day of the weekend. David Adam Byrnes headlines Saturday.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Closing Day Celebration. The east side of the Georgetown Public Library lot opens to general parking.
- Monday, Dec. 7, midnight. All event-zone streets reopen.
Music plays from the Jingle Bell Stage at Austin Avenue and Seventh Street and the Sweet Lemon Stage at Church and Ninth streets. DGA says the Stroll and parade go on rain or shine. In severe weather such as lightning or high winds, activities will be adjusted.
Where to leave the car
On each of the big nights, at least one of the most convenient spots is off the table at some point, so the free parking list is the part most worth saving.
For the Stroll, DGA's parking and closures page lists free public parking at:
- The public parking garage at 502 S. Main St., except 6 a.m. to noon on parade Saturday
- The Williamson County parking garage at Third and Rock streets
- The public lot at Seventh and Rock streets
- The public lot at Eighth and Martin Luther King Jr. streets
- The city lot on the west side of Austin Avenue at Fifth Street
Handicapped parking is at the city lot at 10th and Main. On Friday and Saturday, the east side of the library lot at Eighth and MLK is also reserved for it. That section opens to everyone on Sunday. DGA also asks drivers to obey posted No Parking signs on residential streets.
For the lighting on Nov. 27, the City lists free parking at Seventh and Rock, Austin Avenue and Fifth, MLK at Seventh and Eighth, and the garages at Sixth and Main and at Fourth and Rock.
Most of these lots are on Rock Street or west of it, the same side of downtown where Rock carries the parade detour. If you're coming from south of the Square, you never touch the bridges. If you're coming from the north, the bridges are part of the trip either way. On foot or by bike, the Randy Morrow Trail crossing avoids both the bridge lanes and the parking lots.
The quieter nights, and the switch on Dec. 28
After the Stroll, the season spreads out, and downtown evenings get much easier to manage.
A Wonderful Life, The Musical runs at the Palace through Dec. 30 and lasts about 120 minutes with an intermission. The theater has an ASL Night on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 7:30 p.m., and an adaptive performance on Dec. 9. The Austin Dance Conservatory brings its 2026 Nutcracker to the Palace on Dec. 15 and 16.
A few blocks off the Square, Community Impact reported that Churros ATX moved on Aug. 1 to The Grounds, behind Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. at 1005 S. Rock St. That's on Rock Street, inside the cluster of free lots and outside the closed blocks. If you want a stop after the lights, you can walk there from a parked car without crossing the event zone.
If you'd rather skip downtown for an afternoon, Always Fun Markets lists a Christmas Holiday Gift Market on Sunday, Nov. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wolf Ranch Shopping Center, 1015 W. University Ave. On West University, Community Impact's September business roundup listed new openings in Bluebonnet Plaza: Velvet Taco at 1316 W. University Ave., Summer Moon Coffee at 1312 W. University Ave., and Paris Baguette at 1314 W. University Ave.
Then, on Dec. 28, the City expects to finish the southbound decks on both bridges and move traffic onto them while northbound work begins. That falls during the Palace's final run of shows and a few days before the lights around the Square go dark after Jan. 1. If the City's July 16, 2027 completion date holds, next year's Lighting of the Square would be the first in this project's timeline with the work finished.
Holiday traffic is a small version of a question we hear from clients all year: how a road project changes the daily trip from one part of Georgetown to another. If you're weighing a move across the river, or just want to talk through how the bridge schedule affects your side of town, Chappell Realty Group is glad to help. Schedule a free Georgetown market consult, and we'll go over it with you.
