A car passes over a gap in a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Annie Bedford-Cokley watches as Texas Department of Transportation workers stand in a lift near a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to U.S. 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound. Bedford-Cokley said she posted about the gap on Feb. 14, and the post has since gone viral.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A gap is seen in bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A worker applies concrete beneath a bridge joint on the northbound Interstate 35 to U.S. 290 East flyover in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Workers mix concrete and hoist buckets to a lift positioned beneath a bridge joint on the northbound Interstate 35 to U.S. 290 East flyover in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A car passes over a gap in a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A truck passes over a gap in a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A gap is seen in bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A school bus passes over a gap in a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Department of Transportation workers stand in a lift near a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
When a viral video prompted a wave of concern about the structural integrity of a North Austin flyover nearly two weeks ago, the Texas Department of Transportation assured drivers the bridge was structurally sound.
TxDOT says that is still the case. But the agency also revealed Wednesday that it had been planning to repair the gap in the bridge that sparked the uproar and said it would begin the project this week. The flyover in question carries westbound U.S. 290 traffic onto southbound Interstate 35.
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“TxDOT has been monitoring bearing pads and joints for several years to ensure structural integrity was not compromised,” the agency said in a Wednesday news release. “The bridge joints are designed to expand and contract, and, in this case, they have expanded beyond the intended design.”
Crews were spotted at the site Wednesday afternoon. Starting next week, TxDOT will close the flyover nightly from 9.pm. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights for several weeks. Drivers will be detoured off U.S. 290 at the Waco exit and directed left at the traffic light to access I-35. TxDOT is urging motorists to follow posted detours and expect delays.
A school bus passes over a gap in a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
After work wraps on that ramp, crews will shift to the adjacent flyover that connects northbound I-35 to eastbound U.S. 290. The required nightly closures are expected to continue through mid-March.
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TxDOT initially announced the closures would begin Thursday night, but later wrote in a social media update that “while crews continue repair work, we won’t need to close the flyover until next week.”
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The repairs follow a surge of public attention that began Feb. 14, when photos and videos spread rapidly across Instagram, Facebook and neighborhood forums showing what appeared to be a wide, visible gap in the pavement of the northbound-to-eastbound ramp. In some clips, vehicles could be seen driving over the opening, with a noticeable jolt as tires crossed it. Commenters questioned whether the bridge was cracking or separating. Others noted the presence of a metal plate spanning a gap on the westbound-to-southbound flyover.
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The Valentine’s Day posts were shared thousands of times and drew the attention of local media. In response, TxDOT acknowledged the gap — saying it had been there for years — but insisted the structure was safe.
“We’ve seen posts going around about the US 290 flyover to I-35. The flyover is structurally sound. It’s designed to expand/contract, which can cause gaps to form,” TxDOT wrote in a social post at the time. “A metal plate was placed over this gap a few years ago. We plan to improve the flyover later this year.”
Texas Department of Transportation workers stand in a lift near a bridge joint on the northbound I-35 to US 290 East flyover in Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. TxDOT has scheduled overnight closures beginning Thursday for bridge joint repairs at the interchange and has said the flyover is structurally sound.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
In its Wednesday announcement, TxDOT said it had awarded a bid for a $768,000 repair project in 2025. The plans were not publicly detailed until after the viral posts renewed scrutiny of the interchange.
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TxDOT spokesman Brad Wheelis told the American-Statesman on Wednesday that the timing of the repairs is coincidental and was not accelerated in response to the viral posts.
Annie Bedford-Cokley, who works in a shopping center adjacent to the flyover, recorded the Feb. 14 video that ignited the online debate. She said she noticed the visible gap from the parking lot and decided to post about it out of concern for public safety. On Wednesday afternoon, she watched crews inspecting the bridge and said she felt reassured that repairs were finally underway.
“Whatever is going on isn’t right,” Bedford-Cokley said. “We’re all taught that if you see something, say something. I saw something; I said something.”
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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect new information from TxDOT related to the timing of the flyover closures, which are now set to begin next week.