AUSTIN, Texas — A crash on State Highway 71 caused headaches for travelers trying to get to and from the Austin Bergstrom-International Airport (AUS) Thursday morning.
The Texas Department of Transportation's Austin district first posted about the crash at around 6 a.m., saying that all lanes were closed on westbound SH 71 at Spirit of Texas Drive. At around 8:30 a.m., the Austin Transportation Department said that part of the highway remained closed and drivers in southeast Austin were continuing to see "excessive" delays.
AUS said the delays impacted travelers. At around 8:15 a.m., the airport said due to the crash on SH 71, traffic exiting the airport was backed up to the departure level, causing back-ups for those dropping off travelers flying out of AUS.
A short time later, at around 8:40 a.m., the airport said traffic was still heavy in the area, with delays backing up onto the terminal curbside. AUS said those dropping travelers off could do so on the lower level arrivals curbside, which AUS said was less congested compared to the upper level.
At 10:15 a.m., AUS said roadways were clearing up, but heavy traffic jams continued for both arriving and departing travelers.
The chaos occurred at a time when high airport traffic began, as the Austin City Limits Music Festival kicks off this weekend. The airport said on Wednesday that it expects hundreds of thousands of travelers this weekend. AUS said it will tally up the weekend's numbers on Monday, but there were 153,000 departing travelers Thursday through Monday of last year.
Airport officials are recommending that travelers arrive at least two and half hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights. Check out more travel tips from the airport.
