Tag Archives: TxDOT

City looks to expand parking and trails at Pennybacker Bridge

During its last meeting of the year, City Council made a move that its members hope will improve access to the Pennybacker Bridge Overlook for years to come. Council members voted unanimously to move forward with eminent domain proceedings to…

Planning • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 19, 2024

TxDOT wants to keep approving its own federal environmental reviews

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is asking the federal government to let the state continue to approve its own environmental reviews – a delegated authority intended to fast-track highway projects. The public has until Monday night to weigh in on the arrangement…

Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Dec 9, 2024

I-35 caps plan reconsidered as cost estimates soar by 61%

Austin’s transformational plan to cover parts of Interstate 35 with parks and public spaces, intended to bridge the divide between east and west neighborhoods, is facing a financial reckoning as estimated costs soar and city staff warn the project could drain…

Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 21, 2024

Thousands of Austin's bats will be displaced by I-35 expansion

The expansion of Interstate 35 through Austin is set to displace more than 100 homes and businesses. But an even larger community is being forced to relocate: thousands of bats that roost in the highway’s bridges. While the Texas Department of…

Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 1, 2024

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TxDOT argues in court that I-35 never caused racial discrimination – contradicting TxDOT

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is arguing in federal court that Interstate 35 didn’t unfairly disadvantage Black or Latino Austinites, contradicting the state agency’s own historical assessments of the highway that opened in 1962. “Defendant specifically denies the allegations…

Courts • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 4, 2024

Funding freeze for I-35 expansion denied in heated CAMPO vote

An attempt to freeze funding for the Interstate 35 expansion through Central Austin until the project’s impact on air quality can be more fully assessed was easily defeated Monday in a vote by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s planning…

Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 14, 2024

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UT pledges $13.5 million to cover I-35 from Dean Keeton to 15th Street

The University of Texas is making a $13.5 million down payment to cover Interstate 35 from 15th Street to Dean Keeton, a feat that will be made possible by a state project to widen and lower the highway through Central Austin.…

Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 13, 2024

Summit panel looks at possibilities and challenges of I-35 cap-and-stitch program

While intense construction on the lowering and widening of Interstate 35 isn’t scheduled to begin until mid- or late 2026, local business and political leaders want the public to know that decisions and talks taking place now will have a…

Roads • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 4, 2024

City seeking $191M state loan to cover costs of caps and stitch for I-35

The city will turn to a state loan program as a major source of the funding for the more than $500 million cost of constructing caps and a stitch over Interstate 35 after it is buried and expanded over the…

Roads • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 21, 2024

Federal grant provides $105M for Chavez-Fourth Street cap over rebuilt I-35

The city received a boost in its plan to construct broad, plaza-like caps over sunken portions of Interstate 35, with the announcement of a $105 million federal grant to fund a portion of the construction. On Monday, the U.S. Department…

Roads • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 12, 2024

Your ultimate guide to the I-35 expansion through Central Austin

Austin’s Interstate 35 – the spine of the region’s roadway grid – is about to undergo the largest expansion since the highway opened in 1962. Brace yourself: Construction could last a decade. This time it’s for real. The money –…

Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Feb 23, 2024

Landmark commissioners seek recourse for TxDOT's threat to Edward Rendon Sr. Park

As Austinites brace themselves for nearly a decade of construction on Interstate 35, the Historic Landmark Commission is joining forces with activists resisting demolition of a historic pecan grove in East Austin’s Edward Rendon Sr. Park at Festival Beach. The…

Preservation • By Kali Bramble • Feb 16, 2024