Planners expect the series of multi-acre caps that will eventually cover portions of a reconstructed Interstate 35 to feature compact two- and three-story buildings that could support retail, arts spaces or limited amounts of housing to serve the downtown area. Those lower profiles could make the projects less attractive for potential developers who prefer height […]
TxDOT
The transportation agency for the State of Texas.
Posted inRoads
Council set to commit $15.4 million for design work on I-35 caps and stitches
City Council plans to move forward with adding four plaza-like caps and four “stitch” crossings to portions of the reconstruction of Interstate 35. A memo released yesterday from Transportation and Public Works Department Director Richard Mendoza updates Council and Mayor Kirk Watson on the timeline and funding options involved in the cap-and-stitch effort, which is […]
Posted inRoads
Three City Council members join “Wider Won’t Work” rally against I-35 expansion
Three City Council members spoke Sunday at the Rethink35 “Wider Won’t Work” rally against the Interstate 35 Capital Express project. Those in attendance at Sanchez Elementary School included Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, who is chair of Council’s Mobility Committee, as well as Council members José Velásquez and Zo Qadri. The speaker lineup also featured […]
Posted inRoads
Council pushes for pause on I-35 expansion, citing air quality concerns
Citing concerns over possible environmental and air quality impacts, City Council wants to delay the start of the reconstruction of Interstate 35. By a 7-3 vote, Council approved a resolution Thursday that asked the Texas Department of Transportation and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization to hold off on any funding for the $4.5 billion project […]
Posted inRoads
Whip In won’t be torn down for I-35 expansion, reversing earlier plans
The expansion of Interstate 35 will push out more than 100 homes and businesses in Central Austin. But some places previously slated for demolition will get to stay. Among them: the South Austin bar and convenience store Whip In. Early plans called for demolishing Whip In and Travis Heights Wine and Spirits, a business next door in […]
Posted inRoads
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 out by the expansion of I-35. The 14,000-square-foot Nature’s Treasures property includes a retail showroom, […]
Posted inRoads
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 is scheduled to start next summer to add four lanes, rebuild bridges, lower the main […]
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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 for children to learn a second language. “We’re like any other child care center, except […]
Posted inRoads
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. “It’s hard,” said Dina Flores, the owner of Spanish-immersion day care Escuelita del Alma. She […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee airs financial, environmental concerns over I-35 expansion
City Council members expressed a variety of concerns about the Interstate 35 expansion through downtown Austin, including a desire that the state and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization delay funding approvals on the $4.5 billion project until concerns over construction-related greenhouse gas emissions can be addressed. Last week, Council’s Mobility Committee approved a recommendation that […]
Posted inRoads
TxDOT ignored I-35 expansion health concerns, county says
The Travis County Commissioners Court says the Texas Department of Transportation has ignored their concerns about the impact of Interstate 35 expansion on the health of Austin residents. “We specifically asked TxDOT to do a number of important studies – environmental and air-quality studies – affecting public health. And they didn’t. They ignored them, basically,” […]
Posted inRoads
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 next year. Once completed, the enlarged highway will hold more vehicles, turning up the volume […]