AUSTIN (KXAN) — A portion of Red River Street will close for construction work on what is set to become the tallest skyscraper in Texas.

The Austin Transportation Department has approved a permit to close Red River from East Cesar Chavez Street to Driskill Street.

The developers at the Waterline — the 74-story downtown development — are trying to install chilled water lines, which will require an excavation 20 feet below ground.

According to an ATD memo, construction work will take an estimated 20 weeks, resulting in a four-to-six-week road closure.

Development partners Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential aimed to start the street closure as soon as their Right-of-Way permit application was approved.

However, the recent winter storm brought about multiple construction delays.

The City of Austin is now stepping in, further postponing the Red River Street closure until after South by Southwest concludes.

ATD supervising engineer Darren Ujano says they’re trying to keep open roads for first responders throughout the two-week festival.

“Our number one priority is safety, in case something goes wrong during South by Southwest,” he explained. “We didn’t want to put the public at risk, so we’re requiring the contractor to do construction after the festival.”

The portion of Red River Street undergoing construction is officially slated to close to cars on Tuesday, March 21^st.

Throughout the four-to-six-week closure, pedestrian access will be available around the construction site.