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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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
When a viral video prompted a wave of concern<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n TxDOT initially announced the closures would begin Thursday night, but later wrote in a social media update<\/a> that \u201cwhile crews continue repair work, we won\u2019t need to close the flyover until next week.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED:\u00a0See progress of major Austin-area highway construction projects<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u00a0the opening, with a noticeable jolt as tires crossed it. Commenters questioned whether the bridge was cracking or separating.\u00a0Others noted the presence of a metal plate spanning a gap on\u00a0the westbound-to-southbound flyover.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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