Officials Planning To Remake I35 Through Central Core Of Austin

The stretch of Interstate 35 that runs through Central Austin is among the most congested roadways in the state. Officials with the city, the regional transportation district and Travis County have for years been discussing methods to improve mobility through the city’s central core.

This week, State Sen. Kirk Watson (pictured) spoke of what Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) planners have called the Mobility35 project. It involves several alternatives, the most dramatic of which would depress the interstate lanes through Central Austin and, possibly, cap them to create a tunneled highway that could support development on top.

That plan would be very expensive and, so, officials have been unsure how to proceed. Most proposals have included potential bond propositions. Watson’s proposal, presented to members of the Downtown Austin Alliance this week, suggested that neither a bond election nor a tax increase would be necessary.

“Doing nothing with I-35 is simply not an option,” said Watson. “It’s only going to get a whole lot worse if we don’t get after it. We wanted something that would have the least possible negative impact on the ad valorem taxpayer. With regards to financing, we have to ask how much does it cost, and the other is how much do you got. They are still working numbers on both sides of that equation.”

The proposal would pay for the potentially $4.3 billion project through a combination of methods, including tax increment financing districts, tax increment reinvestment zones and funds from the Austin district of the State Infrastructure Bank.

Ideas for that portion of the highway include the addition of transit-only express lanes and exits expressly for buses.

This article originally published by Strategic Partnerships Inc.