Transportation
BY KATY MCAFEE
TxDOT clears last hurdle for Central Austin I 35 widening plan
A roughly 8-mile stretch of I-35 that runs through downtown Austin is on track to be widened and reconstructed after the Texas Depart- ment of Transportation issued its environmental impact statement and record of decision Aug. 21. What’s happening? The documents paved the way for TxDOT to begin construction on the highway in mid-2024. The project will be split into six phases over the next decade, the rst of which will go to bid around March, TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson said. Crews will begin reconstruction of the Lady Bird Lake and the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard bridges. A closer look The documents also revealed several changes TxDOT made after collaborating with Mayor Kirk Watson earlier this summer.
TxDOT will create a construction warning app for drivers to use during the duration of the project and a permanent construction noise barrier for the community garden near Festival Beach. TxDOT o cials are proposing to construct stormwater treatment ponds at the US 183 interchange at Cesar Chavez Street to treat stormwater before discharg- ing to the Colorado River. TxDOT has also committed an additional $100 million to “aesthetic treatments” along the project with an emphasis on east-to-west crossings. What’s next While TxDOT’s widening plan moves forward, a separate but related plan led by the city to add caps, or large land bridges, and stitches, or bridges, above the sunken roadway remains unfunded. The city will need to secure funding for the proj- ect, which could cost upward of $600-800 million, by December 2024 for the cap and stitch project to be realized, according to TxDOT.
The I 35 widening project will add ve lanes over Airport Boulevard.
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