TxDOT Has $8.1B Plan To Upgrade I-35 With Toll Express Lanes

The plan calls for adding a managed toll lane in each direction of the now heavily congested freeway as well as other upgrades in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. 

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has introduced an $8.1 billion plan to improve traffic flow on Interstate 35 from Round Rock through downtown Austin to the State Highway 45 SE toll road near Buda.

The plan calls for adding a managed toll lane in each direction of the now heavily congested freeway as well as other upgrades in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.

The new Capital Express plan almost doubles the $4.3 billion cost estimate from the previous plan because it all includes rebuilding portions of I-35 and possibly lowering the freeway beneath ground level in downtown Austin.

The project along I-35 aligns with the statewide Texas Clear Lanes strategy to improve the most congested highways in Texas, said Bruce Bugg, Jr., chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. In March, commissioners approved $2.6 billion to upgrade highways in the largest metropolitan areas in the state that are funded through Proposition 7.

Construction on the I-35 upgrades would be accomplished in phases but would most likely give the section in downtown Austin a high priority because it is the state’s main thoroughfare for goods and services, said Terry McCoy, the district engineer in Austin.

Projects to address interim traffic relief from SH 45 N to SH 45 SE could begin in 2021 and the environmental impact report is expected to be issued in 2019. TxDOT also expects to hold more open house meetings to update residents on the Capital Express project and to gather public input.

This story originally published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc.