AUSTIN, Texas — The I-35 Capital Express Central Project to relieve congestion on the interstate is getting the go-ahead.
On Monday morning, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) released the project's environmental impact statement. This statement means the project received environmental clearance under the National Environmental Policy Act. It's one of the final steps before construction can begin.
"My policy has been to execute, execute, execute, and with environmental clearance, we are closer to turning dirt on this much-needed Texas clear-lanes project, which will bring congestion relief to Central Texas," said J. Bruce Bugg Jr., Texas Transportation Commission chairman.
This project aims to improve mobility on Interstate 35. The $4.5 billion project will add two high-occupancy-vehicle lanes in each direction from U.S. 290 to State Highway 71.
The project will also add bike paths and boulevard-style segments through Downtown Austin.
Tucker Ferguson, TxDOT's district engineer for Austin, said the expansion is focused on moving more people in the same or fewer number of vehicles as today.
"In order to use these, you need to be in a bus or transit vehicle, or a van pool or carpool, or share a rideshare-type of program," Ferguson said.
TxDOT said after more than 18,000 community suggestions, it made changes like removing upper decks and added bike and pedestrian paths to the east-west bridges.
"They haven't listened to the community and it's not good enough," said Adam Greenfield with the anti-expansion group Rethink35.
Greenfield said the plan is outdated, won't fix traffic problems, will displace businesses and homes and will hurt the environment.
"Some people will keep needing to drive, but so many people want to ride good trains, good busses, good public transportation," Greenfield said. "This project is so behind the times. We're in the middle of a heat dome. We are scorching hot in a heat dome and TxDOT is proposing to lay more heat-trapping asphalt and cause more climate change that will produce even longer heat domes."
TxDOT said the next step is to finalize design details and choose a construction company. It will split the project into six parts and could start construction by summer 2024. It expects the entire project to be done in a decade.
If you are worried about the impacts, TxDOT is still taking comment while it nails down the final design.
Ferguson said with the local population expected to double in the next 20 years, the time to act is now.
"I-35 in this area is already the third-most congested roadway in the state of Texas," Ferguson said.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.