A massive proposed expansion of Interstate 35 aimed at handling the influx of traffic as the Austin area grows is poised to move forward after the Texas Transportation Commission brings forward a plan Thursday to fill a $4.3 billion funding gap.
The commission, which guides the Texas Department of Transportation’s construction priorities, will propose fully funding the $7.5 billion expansion of the interstate that could possibly include multiple levels of tunnels through parts of Central Austin, rebuilding the highway below ground level and the demolition of the two-deck system that has come to characterize the highway in Austin.
On Thursday, the Transportation Commission will begin its first public discussions of bridging the financial gap. The proposal would pump $3.4 billion into the I-35 project in Austin, dedicating the full allotment of the commission’s discretionary fund in its Unified Transportation Fund.
The remainder would come from a $300 million allocation from the commission when it updates its Unified Transportation Plan in August and from reprioritizing $600 million TxDOT previously sent to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, Texas Transportation Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr. said.
In May, CAMPO’s board voted to kick $400 million toward the interstate after TxDOT’s staff unveiled a preliminary plan that included lowering the highway below ground level throughout the central city as well as adding managed lanes.
“What we’re going to talk about ... will directly benefit the folks in Austin,” Bugg said in an interview with the American-Statesman. “We believe that it is a statewide strategic priority.”
Bugg called I-35 “Main Street Texas,” noting that mitigating the slowdowns in Austin — a notorious bottleneck along a highway that runs through four of the state’s five largest cities — would benefit all Texans.
While the funding plan’s approval appears to be a mere formality at this point, many questions remain about the future of Interstate 35. Bugg said it was too early to begin to provide a timeline for the project′s completion, but landing the full funding should expedite a lengthy planning and public input process that accompanies all major TxDOT projects.
When concepts for I-35′s expansion were unveiled last year, TxDOT indicated that construction could begin in 2022.
What I-35 looks like at the end of the process remains an unknown even with preliminary plans. But creating two managed lanes on each side of the highway through most of Austin remains the plan. Those lanes would not be tolled, but could be reserved for high-occupancy vehicles, Bugg said.
Fully burying the highway, similar to what was done for a stretch of Interstate 635 in Dallas, is not part of the plan. Bugg said such a project would require local funding.
“This project will relieve traffic congestion for all those who travel on I-35 through Austin, while helping our capital city meet the needs of a growing population,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
How the interstate’s expansion interfaces with the Austin City Council and Capital Metro’s regional transportation plan Project Connect is unknown. All major projects in the multibillion-dollar transit plan through Austin remain focused away from the city’s other highways.
“I-35 through downtown Austin is a state and regional strategic priority. It must be. Today’s proposal to invest an additional $4.3 billion in funds to address I-35 is the kind of bold investment we need,” said Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, in a statement.
TxDOT had previously set aside funding for the highway’s expansion from Texas 45 North in Round Rock to U.S. 290 East in North Austin and from U.S. 290 East to Texas 45 South. Securing funding for the most expensive portion of the project in Central Austin had remained elusive.
“Austin’s long-term strategic mobility plan requires increased IH-35 capacity that will better move people and transit,” said Mayor Steve Adler, a CAMPO board member. “We thank the state and our Sen. Watson for moving us closer. Our city is delivering generational advances on our biggest challenges: mobility and affordability.”
But not everyone is a fan of the proposal. Eric Goff, a volunteer with the pro-rail transit advocacy group AURA, said the interstate needs to be placed below ground to improve walkability.
“Obviously wider highways are terrible for the environment and destroy the urban fabric of cities,” Goff said. “They incentivize sprawl and fill up with even more cars, which leads directly to more burned gas and climate change. We support removing 35 as it goes through the city and focusing instead on mass transit. Cities are for people, not cars.”
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I-35′s $7.5B expansion more of a reality after plan gets funding - Standard-Times
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