AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is preparing to start the next phase of its I-35 expansion project through downtown Austin.
The transit agency said Thursday that Phase 2 of the Capital Express Central Project will start soon. The project will add two HOV lanes in both directions along I-35 between Holly Street and Ben White Boulevard.
The $630 million project will also reconstruct the Lady Bird Lake Bridge, build a new interchange at Riverside Drive to accommodate future light rail routes, add a pedestrian-only bridge at Woodland Avenue and improve bike and pedestrian pathways.
“TxDOT is moving forward on our commitment and schedule to provide congestion relief projects through downtown Austin,” TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson said. “Construction along the Lady Bird Lake segment will help enhance safety and improve connectivity to and through Austin.”
This follows Phase 1 of the project, which started last October with the reconstruction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Bridge.