"Drivers will stay in the left lane to bypass signals at Westlake Drive and Cedar Street. Drivers will exit right for access to Westlake Drive and Cedar Street."
That instruction from the Texas Department of Transportation covers most of what changed in West Lake Hills this fall. On Sunday, Aug. 30, TxDOT scheduled one new Loop 360 mainlane in each direction to open. Drivers who are only passing through now ride under the two intersections that used to stop them. Drivers who live here, or are headed to a table on Bee Cave Road, take a separate path. A mile or two south, the restaurants opening or reopening along that corridor are building for people who stay. One flagship is more than quadrupling its seating, and a new wine cafe arrived with a 2,500-square-foot patio.
Both changes do the same job. They separate people passing through from people who are here on purpose. Each one gets its own route and its own space.
How a local trip on Loop 360 works now
The new mainlanes are for drivers who don't need Westlake Drive or Cedar Street. TxDOT says the project "removed traffic signals from the main lanes by adding bridges at both intersections." Local errands follow a different set of rules:
- Stay left to pass through. The left lane carries you under Westlake Drive and Cedar Street without a signal.
- Exit right to reach either street. Connector roads still provide access to Westlake Drive and Cedar Street.
- Turn around on the Westlake Drive bridge. Non-signalized U-turns on the bridge connect northbound and southbound Loop 360.
- The Bold Ruler Way U-turn is still there. TxDOT said the southbound U-turn south of Bold Ruler Way would stay open.
The coverage we found was published before the switch. KXAN and Newsradio KLBJ both ran advance notices on Aug. 28, and we haven't found any published measurement of how travel times changed afterward. What we can say from the record is narrower. The signals are off the mainlanes, and a local trip now ends with a right exit or a bridge U-turn instead of a wait at a light.
The work isn't finished. TxDOT lists excavation on the mainlanes between Bold Ruler Way and the Pennybacker Bridge continuing 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. This week also brings a specific closure. The left lane of the northbound and southbound connector road between the Pennybacker Bridge and the Shell Refuel Gas station is closed from Sunday, Oct. 4 through Thursday, Oct. 8, 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Newsradio KLBJ reported that the remaining work includes finishing both directions of mainlanes, plus final paving and striping. The project's completion estimate is "late 2026, weather permitting."
Bee Cave Road is building for longer visits
Once the new road layout has sorted out who is passing through, the restaurant changes on Bee Cave Road are about room for people who stop.
The clearest example is Baldinucci Pizza Romana at 3300 Bee Caves Road, Ste. 110. Salvatore, Patricia and Gabriel Baldinucci opened the family restaurant in October 2022. Community Impact reported that the flagship closed on Aug. 10 for renovations and is slated to reopen in November with a dining room expanded from 12 seats to 54. A 12-seat room mostly serves people who grab a slice and go. A 54-seat room is built for people who sit down for dinner. The menu runs from margherita and fig-and-arugula slices to meatball parmigiana and limoncello mascarpone cake. Until the flagship reopens, the family's Domain Northside location, which opened Aug. 17, is filling in.
Postino opened at Village at Westlake on Sept. 13 at 701 S. Capital of Texas Hwy., Ste. J760. It's the wine cafe's third Austin location, after Bryker Woods and South Central Austin, and its 12th in Texas. Austin Monthly's grand-opening listing describes a 2,500-square-foot patio, an indoor-outdoor bar and retractable garage doors. Co-founder and CEO Lauren Bailey called Westlake "one of Austin's most established and community-driven neighborhoods." The location's own page lists these offers:
- Daily happy hour through 5 p.m., with $6 glasses of wine and $6 beer pitchers
- A $25 bruschetta board and bottle on Mondays and Tuesdays after 8 p.m.
- The same $25 deal all of October for Austin teachers and nurses who show a badge
Community Impact also reported a monthly Bottle Club starting at $20. We haven't found a full critical review yet. So far, the coverage is opening-day reporting.
Here's where the corridor stands as of early October:
| Business | Address | Status | Date reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postino | 701 S. Capital of Texas Hwy., Ste. J760 | Open | Opened Sept. 13 |
| House of Shan | 8907 Bee Cave Road | Open | Opened Aug. 28 |
| Baldinucci Pizza Romana | 3300 Bee Caves Road, Ste. 110 | Closed for renovation | Reopening slated for November |
| Teriyaki Madness | 3231 Bee Cave Road | In permitting | Tentative early December |
| Material Bespoke Stone + Tile | Moved to 3010 W. Anderson Lane, Ste. I | Relocated out of Westlake | Aug. 3 |
House of Shan opened just off Bee Cave Road. Shannon Buth founded it in 2020, and it sells clothing and accessories, including custom trucker hats. Buth told Community Impact the shop donates $5 from every purchase to charities supporting women and children, and that it raised more than $125,000 for Kerr County flood relief last summer. Teriyaki Madness has a company representative's tentative early-December target at 3231 Bee Cave Road, and it's still in permitting. Baldinucci's November date and Teriyaki Madness's December date are both targets for now, not confirmed openings.
Some businesses on the corridor are marking anniversaries this fall. Restore Hyper Wellness at 3276 Bee Cave Road, Ste. 118, is celebrating five years in Westlake, with anniversary offers Oct. 16 through 18. Chalk Training at 515 S. Capital of Texas Hwy., Ste. 120, marked 10 years with a celebration in late September.
What the project promises but hasn't delivered yet
The roadwork and the new restaurants both point toward an area built more for local trips. The pieces that would extend that to people on foot or bike aren't open yet.
TxDOT's February 2025 community Q&A describes 10-foot shared-use paths, generally set five feet back from the curb, plus protected east-west paths across the Westlake Drive and Cedar Street bridges. The current project page still lists the shared-use paths as ongoing work, along with the connector roads and drainage. We haven't found any source saying the paths are open to walkers or cyclists.
The same goes for the Pennybacker Bridge overlook. In January 2025, Community Impact reported that the City of Austin planned public parking, a sidewalk and an expanded trail at the Loop 360 overlook. That article gave no opening date, and we haven't found an update since. For now, treat the overlook improvements as planned, not finished.
There's one more pending item close to home. Austin Water is holding a neighbor update on the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant at West Lake Hills City Hall on Monday, Oct. 19, at 5:30 p.m. It will cover project updates and sound-mitigation work. The city calendar lists City Hall at 4010 Bee Cave Road.
The calendar through early November
The events this season are small and close by:
- Oct. 16 to 18: Restore Hyper Wellness anniversary offers at 3276 Bee Cave Road.
- Oct. 17: Oktoberfest at Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, with live music, food, beer, yard games and a costume contest. The Galleria lists 3 to 7 p.m., but Community Impact's fall guide lists 2 to 6 p.m., so check the time with the venue before you go.
- Oct. 19: The Ullrich Water Treatment Plant neighbor update at West Lake Hills City Hall, 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 22 and 23: The City of Bee Cave Haunted Trail, 6 to 9 p.m., behind Chick-fil-A at 3600 S. RM 620. Admission is free.
- Oct. 31: Rollingwood's annual Trunk-or-Treat, 4 to 6 p.m., at Upper Park, 3111 Gentry Drive.
- Nov. 1: Eanes Elementary's community Movie Night, 5:30 to 8:15 p.m., at Rollingwood Pavilion, 403 Nixon Drive.
- November: Baldinucci Pizza Romana's targeted reopening, with seating going from 12 to 54.
The HealthFest event planned for Oct. 3 at Star Hill Ranch on Hamilton Pool Road was postponed to May 1, 2027, because of forecast rain and flash-flood concerns.
By late 2026, the Westlake Drive and Cedar Street project should reach its final paving and permanent traffic patterns. Until then, a local trip on Loop 360 means taking the right exit or the bridge U-turn, and at Baldinucci, the November reopening is the next date to watch.
At Thomas Luxury Group, we follow changes like these because they shape daily life in West Lake Hills long before they show up anywhere else. If you're weighing how the Loop 360 rebuild and the new Bee Cave Road businesses might affect a home you own here, request a private consultation and we'll walk through it with you.
