AUSTIN, Texas — A legal battle over the proposed expansion of Interstate 35 in Austin has ended, for now.
On Tuesday, a judge dismissed a lawsuit against TxDOT that was filed by Rethink35, Texas Public Interest Research Group and Environment Texas.
The proposed nearly $5 billion project to expand 8 miles of I-35 through downtown to 20 lanes includes removing the upper decks and lowering I-35 through Central Austin.
The lawsuit claimed TxDOT avoided some environmental reviews by splitting the proposed expansion into three sub-projects – the I-35 Capital Express North (SH-45 N to US-290 E), South (SH-71/Ben White Blvd to SH-45 SE), and Central (US-290 E to SH-71/Ben White Blvd) projects. The groups claimed TxDOT was falsely claiming these three stretches of I-35 were “independent utilities” to avoid the more rigorous, legally required environmental review and public engagement of a single larger project.
“By splitting its I-35 project into separate parts, TxDOT is clearly violating the law,” Matt Casale, TexPIRG's environment campaigns director, said last year. “For such a major highway project, TxDOT should be undertaking the most rigorous environmental review process, as well as giving the public much more opportunity to meaningfully participate in the conversation.”
Rethink35 is challenging the very basis of the proposed expansion.
“Countless examples, including the notorious Katy Freeway expansion in Houston, have shown that widening highways worsens congestion by encouraging more driving,” Adam Greenfield, Rethink35’s executive director, said last year. “The public has a right to consider options for I-35 that will actually work, including alternatives to driving, not just expansion. This is also a major equity issue: Widening freeways worsens serious and fatal traffic crashes, air pollution, noise and carbon emissions, all of which disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color.”
A spokesperson for Rethink35 told KVUE they requested the lawsuit to be dismissed, and they are considering other options for legal action.
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