AUSTIN, Texas — With the expansion of Interstate 35 underway, there is an opportunity to cap portions of the interstate and reconnect East Austin and West Austin, creating parks and amenities.
Council members like Chito Vela are rallying behind the idea.
"Dallas, Phoenix, Boston, Seattle – there have been great projects that have turned really unattractive areas of the city into really nice areas where people want to live," Vela said.
One of the designs shows what a cap could look like between Fourth and Seventh streets, with the design including an elevated walkway and outdoor dining space.
KVUE also learned the city has found up to eight locations between Holly Street and Airport Boulevard where the caps could go.
Another design shows a cap between Cesar Chavez and Fourth streets, and the plan includes a "street promenade" and bike path.
At a city council work session, council heard that TxDOT is requesting a commitment from the city to pay for the project.
"I really believe the state should be helping us with this project. Thankfully, the federal government has given us already a $105 million grant for the project. So there's going to be some help, but ultimately the city is going to have to figure out how to pay for this," Vela said.
Rich Heyman lives in the Cherrywood neighborhood and spoke to council members, urging them to fund the cap. He said his neighborhood is directly impacted by the expansion.
"So these caps that they are proposing to go over the freeway are going to make a huge difference in mitigating a lot of very negative impacts of that expansion," Heyman said.
It is an investment for the future that Council Member Zo Qadri said will rely on the decision-making of the future.
"This is a multi-generational project that's going on and everyone wants to just make sure we get it right," Qadri said. "There's a lot of folks who are counting on us, who are here in the city right now."
On Dec. 12, council will have the chance to vote to move forward with the project.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.