AUSTIN, Texas — Several members of the Austin City Council are joining the group Rethink35 to speak out against a plan to widen Interstate 35.
Earlier this month, the federal government gave environmental clearance for the I-35 Capital Express Central Project – a step to move the expansion project forward.
The project would lower I-35 main lanes from Oltorf Street to Airport Boulevard. The plan also includes adding two non-tolled high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and boulevard-style segments through downtown.
But the group Rethink35 has spoken out against the project, saying it won't work and that it forces businesses and homes to move and hurts the environment.
"Some people will keep needing to drive, but so many people want to ride good trains, good busses, good public transportation," said Adam Greenfield with Rethink35. "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."
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) engineers say they need to act now because Austin is growing and traffic will only get worse if they don't do anything. They also say they have received more than 18,000 community suggestions and found this plan to be the best solution to accommodate the rapidly growing city.
But some members of the Austin City Council are joining Rethink 35 to oppose the plan. At 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Stars Café, they're scheduled to give an update on their strategy to stop the plan from moving forward.
Featured speakers will include Councilmembers Natasha Harper-Madison (District 1) and Zo Qadri (District 9), as well as the office of Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis (District 8), Rethink 35, AURA, the North Central I-35 Neighborhood Coalition, the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association, the Austin Justice Coalition, The Parents' Climate Community, Save Our Springs and Restart Lone Star Rail.