Stories by Nathan Bernier, KUT
With I-35 expansion, Austin gem Nature’s Treasures is being forced to move
Located on the Interstate 35 frontage road just south of Airport Boulevard, Nature’s Treasures has become an iconic destination for fans of minerals and the metaphysical. The crystal store is among more than 100 homes and businesses about to be forced…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Oct 19, 2023
Austin Chronicle's historic headquarters to be paved over for I-35
After years of skewering the state’s political elite, The Austin Chronicle is slated to be swallowed whole by the jaws of a state-sponsored highway project. Wheels are in motion to expand Interstate 35 from Ben White Boulevard to U.S. Highway 290 East. Work…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Oct 18, 2023
I-35 expansion will force out Spanish-immersion day care, scrambling plans for 200 kids
Child care in Austin is expensive and hard to find. Parents sign up on day care waiting lists long before their kids are even born. And the shortage is getting worse. Escuelita del Alma offers something even harder to find: a chance…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Oct 17, 2023
Austinites in the path of wider I-35 prepare to be pushed out
Along Interstate 35, the notices have arrived. The highway expansion has been off and on for years. But now it’s actually happening. People who received letters or phone calls will have to leave. They have a few months, maybe more.…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Oct 16, 2023
Cap Metro wants French company to run bus service despite warnings from union leaders
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is moving to hire a Paris-based company to operate bus service in the Austin area – sidelining the current contractor, MV Transportation, and raising alarms among union leaders representing more than 1,200 bus drivers and maintenance…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Sep 14, 2023
Noise concerns amplify as I-35 expansion in Central Austin nears
Now that the expansion of Interstate 35 through Central Austin has cleared a final bureaucratic hurdle, the city can expect the project to resonate in more ways than one. Noise from heavy machinery will rumble day and night after construction starts…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Aug 28, 2023
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I-35 expansion through downtown Austin gets final green light
The state’s contentious plan to make the biggest road in Central Texas even bigger has cleared a major bureaucratic hurdle, paving the way for the historic expansion of Interstate 35 from Ben White Boulevard to U.S. Highway 290 East. The…
Development • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Aug 23, 2023
Extreme heat bakes Austin's streets, making them warp and crack
Austin roads are taking a beating this summer. An extended heat wave that could be the most severe on record is warping highways and cracking streets. But the pavement is shriveling so slowly, it can be hard to notice. One…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Aug 17, 2023
Capital Metro quietly rolls out money-saving app and payment card months late
Lee esta historia en español With little fanfare, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched a new app and payment card last week – months behind schedule. The card and app can save users money on train or bus rides. The transit…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Aug 7, 2023
Austin's I-35 plans revised to include new cap and a $25 million boardwalk
Lee esta historia en español The Interstate 35 expansion through Central Austin is undergoing significant revisions as local officials try to negotiate improvements to the $4.5 billion project, aimed at widening the highway that’s cut through downtown since it opened…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Aug 4, 2023
With missing link in place, Violet Crown now offers 11 miles of uninterrupted trail
A mile-long missing link in the Violet Crown Trail is now complete and open to the public. This new segment in Sunset Valley guides trailblazers from the end of Home Depot Boulevard, through a wooded area, under MoPac Expressway and…
Bicycles • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 31, 2023
Do Austin's new bus shelters cut it in the Texas heat?
Under Austin’s scorching afternoon sun, Elijah Archie finds himself at the outskirts of Capital Metro’s service area. He’s on Decker Lane, earbuds in, eyes scanning for the bus. He’s standing next to one of the public transit provider’s sleek, new…
