Rethink35 announces more support for I-35 complaint

Rethink35, a group that is promoting alternatives to the upcoming expansion of Interstate 35 through Downtown Austin, has refiled its suit against the project with additional opponents signing on. The suit now has the support of all three declared mayoral candidates – Kathie Tovo, Carmen Llanes Pulido and Doug Greco. (Though current mayor Kirk Watson is assumed to be running for reelection, he has yet to make it official.) In addition, the suit has the support of Austin Justice Coaltion, PODER, LULAC #22425, AURA and the Save Our Springs Alliance, among other groups. The civil rights complaint highlights the racial segregation solidified by the highway’s construction and alleges that its expansion reinforces those divides. “I-35 has divided Austin, and displaced and harmed people of color since it was built. TxDOT efforts to expand I-35 will worsen that division, displacement and harm. We will not sit idly by and just let this happen,” Chris Harris of the Austin Justice Coalition said in a statement to the press. The complaint and full list of signatories can be read in its entirety here.