New Downtown Austin I-35 Designs Available to the Public

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) revealed new conceptual designs for the  I-35 Capital Express Central project in April that provide detailed visuals of key crosspoints throughout downtown Austin such as Lady Bird Lake, Cesar Chavez, 6th Street, and 11th Street.

TxDOT hopes to beautify and enhance mobility at these high-traffic intersections, which are often among the first things travelers along I-35 see in Austin. The recently released renderings include pedestrian and bike paths, art installations, and “surface amenities” such as landscaping. 

Broader components of the $4.5 billion highway expansion and redevelopment include:

• Removal of the existing I-35 decks
• Lowering of the roadway
• Addition of two non-tolled HOV lanes in each direction
• East-west cross-street bridges
• Pedestrian, bicycle shared-use paths

Now that the public comment period ended in March, TxDOT is awaiting final approval from the federal government and plans to release the final project details in August 2023. Construction is slated to begin summer 2024 and finish in 2033, which is eight years of construction total.

Resources:

• KXAN Article – “TxDOT unveils new design proposals for I-35 expansion”