Costs soar for public spaces across I-35 From the cover
What’s new
What’s happening?
I-35 caps and stitches A cap refers to a platform built over I-35 for public parks, while a stitch connects streets, sidewalks and bike lanes over the highway.
Out of all the project options, city staff recommended decreasing the caps, reducing the total area from 26.26 acres to 12.6 acres— still twice the size of the only other highway land bridge in Texas, located in Dallas. The new strategy reduces most cap sizes by 25% and brings the total cost to just over $500 million. This would also reduce the initial funding commitment required by TxDOT to $109 million. “If we’re going to go through the trouble of doing this, my sense would be to go ahead and do full caps, and do it right,” council member Chito Vela said. Council member Vanessa Fuentes hopes the city will focus on keeping full-scale downtown caps, noting the project was meant to be a “silver lining” for residents impacted by the highway expansion.
Final Days Ends January 31 st As the I-35 expansion project in Central Austin rolls forward, the city has worked to address the highway’s historical division of the east and west sides of the city by incorporating caps and stitches, or land bridges, for connectivity. Austin officials were forced to reconsider original plans after a Nov. 19 update indicated costs had ballooned to $1.4 billion, up 67% from 2023 projections. Initially, plans called for more than two dozen acres of amenity decks atop the wider, sunken I-35 between Lady Bird Lake and Airport Boulevard. The vision—shaped by resident input—calls to reconnect communities divided by the highway with new parks, art and programming on the caps. After conducting community outreach over the summer, the transportation and public works department unveiled plans for the full build-out Sept. 28, which included a slew of amenities. However, as inflation has swelled the construction costs, staff recommended scaling back. Austin City Council members caught a break this month before being forced to make the weighty decision surrounding funding of the longstanding proposal of I-35 land bridges, as the Texas Department of Transportation extended the city’s deadline to commit the millions of dollars needed for the project until March. Originally outlined for the year’s end, the city would need to front $284 million to TxDOT to secure the construction of structural components for all eight proposed caps and stitches. The city’s plans are not tied to proposed caps around The University of Texas at Austin campus, which are being developed separately and are funded by the institution. These include roughly 17 acres over the interstate between 15th Street and Dean Keeton Street.
Airport Blvd.-Red Line cap Acres: 4.24 | Cost: $226M
41st St.-Red Line cap Acres: 4.76 Cost: $290M
38th-41st St. cap Acres: 5.21 Cost: $261M
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The University of Texas cap
11th-12th St. cap Acres: 2.17 Cost: $123M
While officials have some funding secured, they are still weighing different build options, all of which still need up to a billion in funding.
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4th-7th St. cap Acres: 3.28 Cost: $166M
Remaining funding needed
Cesar Chavez-4th St. cap Acres: 5.37 | Cost: $272M
Full build: $1.25B
Least expensive build option: $255M
Cesar Chavez St. stitch Acres: .27 | Cost: $12M
Holly St. stitch Acres: 0.96 Cost: $26M
Funding secured
SIB Loan: $41M Grant: $105.2M
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SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN, COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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