Starbase Road Closures
Boca Chica Beach and State Highway 4 · Checked 7:47 a.m., Nov 12
Can I drive to Boca Chica right now?
Yes, for now. Highway 4 has a road delay from 12:00 p.m.
As of 7:47 a.m. Central, Boca Chica Beach is open, and State Highway 4 is open, with a road delay from 12:00 p.m. The City of Starbase, Texas publishes the beach and the road as two separate readings: for Boca Chica Beach it reads "Boca Chica Beach closures" and for State Highway 4 it reads "Road Delay". One closure window is posted today, Thursday, November 12, 2026: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. The next closure after that is November 13, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Central. Read from starbase.texas.gov at 7:47 a.m. Central on November 12, 2026.
Next 7 Days
The City posts closures 2 to 5 days before a launch. “Nothing posted” is not a promise that the road stays open.
Planning a trip? See the viewing spots and Starship Flight 15.
Keep Up With Closures
The calendar updates on its own when the City changes an order. Use Google Calendar? Add it to Google, or .
For texts, the City runs its own line: text BEACH to 866-513-3475.
Never miss a launch
Get told when Starship Flight 15 flies
The date can still slip, and the road closure order lands 2 to 5 days out. We’ll email you shortly before liftoff, and text you at T-0 if you leave a number, so you can plan the drive.
2026 So Far
24
Signed closure orders on file
Nov 13
Most recent order
2–5 days
Notice before a launch
Key facts
- Closure authority
- City of Starbase, Texas
- In force since
- September 1, 2025 (Texas HB 5246)
- What closes
- State Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach
- Notice before a launch
- 2 to 5 days
- Next posted closure
- Nov 12, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central
- City closure texts
- Text BEACH to 866-513-3475
- Last checked
- 7:47 a.m., Nov 12
Source: City of Starbase, Texas. We check the City’s page about every 2 hours during the day. Closures can be posted at short notice.
What Actually Closes
Highway 4 is the only road out to the launch site and Boca Chica Beach. You drive it east from Brownsville; the Rio Grande and the Mexican border sit to the south and South Bay to the north, so there is no way around. On closure days everything past the checkpoint (the orange stretch, about 6 miles) is off limits, and the closest you can legally get is the checkpoint itself or South Padre Island, 5 miles north across the water.
State Highway 4
Your route in, from Brownsville & Boca Chica Blvd
Checkpoint· closure begins
Closure begins here. Barricades go up
Starbase Build Site
SpaceX factory & high bay
Launch & Catch Towers
The pad, two miles past the factory
Boca Chica Beach
Where Highway 4 ends
- Brownsville → the beach
- ≈24 mi
- About 45 min straight out Highway 4
- Checkpoint → the beach
- ≈6 mi
- The stretch that closes, all of it public road
- South Padre Island → the pad
- ≈5 mi
- Across the water. About 1 hr by road
Where you can watch during a closure
Isla Blanca Park, South Padre Island
The main public viewing spot, about 5 miles north of the pad across Brazos Santiago Pass. There is no bridge, so getting there means driving back through Brownsville: about 40 miles and an hour. It stays open when Highway 4 is closed.
Highway 4, west of the checkpoint
Pull onto the shoulder anywhere before the barricades. Far more distant than the island, but it's the road you already drove in on and costs you nothing.
Who Closes The Road
Closures of State Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach are ordered by the City of Starbase, Texas, and published as numbered mayoral closure orders. Texas House Bill 5246 took effect on September 1, 2025 and moved that authority from Cameron County to the city, which was incorporated in May 2025.
Cameron County still hosts its old closure page, but it has not posted an order since October 2025 and last edited the page on Thursday, October 9, 2025. A schedule sourced from the county today would show nothing at all on a launch day. We read the city.
Orders are typically issued 2 to 5 days ahead of a launch, and are often amended or reissued as a date slips. Every executed order the city has published is linked below.
Executed Closure Orders
Showing 12 of 24. The full archive is on the city’s notices page.
Road Closure FAQ
Is Boca Chica Beach or Highway 4 closed today?
As of 7:47 a.m. Central, Boca Chica Beach is open, and State Highway 4 is open, with a road delay from 12:00 p.m. The City of Starbase, Texas publishes the beach and the road as two separate readings: for Boca Chica Beach it reads "Boca Chica Beach closures" and for State Highway 4 it reads "Road Delay". One closure window is posted today, Thursday, November 12, 2026: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. The next closure after that is November 13, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Central. Read from starbase.texas.gov at 7:47 a.m. Central on November 12, 2026.
Why does Highway 4 close at Starbase?
State Highway 4 is the only road to the SpaceX launch site and Boca Chica Beach, and it passes close to the pad. The City of Starbase closes it during launches, static fires, and other hazardous testing to keep the public outside the safety zone. Residents with proof of address between the checkpoints can still reach their homes.
How long do the closures last?
Most closures are scheduled for a block of several hours on a primary date, with one or two alternative (backup) dates in case the activity slips. Actual closures can be lifted early if a test scrubs, or extended if it runs long, so treat the posted times as a window rather than an exact schedule.