{"id":470501,"date":"2026-10-19T12:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T12:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/470501\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T12:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T12:50:09","slug":"txdot-ramps-up-multibillion-dollar-i-35-reconstruction-work-in-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/470501\/","title":{"rendered":"TxDOT ramps up multibillion-dollar I-35 reconstruction work in Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dirt continues to turn on one of the\u00a0largest Interstate 35 reconstruction efforts<\/a> in decades, with billions of dollars funneled toward expanding the interstate near the Texas capital. This October marks two years<\/a> since construction crews first kicked off work on I-35’s reconstruction and expansion near downtown Austin, representing the start of nearly 10 years’ worth of work to overhaul the interstate.<\/p>\n

As drivers continue to pack their patience as they hit the road, here’s what’s next for them to keep a lookout for on their daily commutes.<\/p>\n

The I-35 Capital Express Central Project<\/a> is an approximately $4.5 billion, eight-mile corridor<\/a> that is reconstructing and expanding I-35 near downtown Austin. The massive, near-decade-long endeavor kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony in October 2024. That project comprises multiple phases of work, with substantial completion of the expansion expected sometime in 2033.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two years ago, the Texas Department of Transportation’s Austin District kicked off construction work with the reconstruction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard bridge. In September of this year, crews completed that phase of construction, representing a substantial milestone for the I-35 Capital Express Central Project as a whole. Now, crews are wrapping up “final punch list items” to officially close out that phase of work.<\/p>\n

South toward Lady Bird Lake, TxDOT crews are reconstructing the northbound I-35 frontage road bridge that runs over the waterway, with the next phase of demolition work slated for late 2026. Teams are also building both columns and shoreline support structures to support the upcoming eastside pedestrian bridge.<\/p>\n

Reconstruction of both the northbound I-35 frontage road as well as the east pedestrian bridge will run into 2027, with that new pedestrian bridge expected to open sometime in the middle of next year. In the meantime, teams are installing bridge columns at the Riverside Drive bridge over I-35, and the north side is closed for construction work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In the new year, crews will switch to the west side of the bridge to complete similar bridge reconstruction operations,” a TxDOT spokesperson confirmed to MySA. “Eastbound and westbound lanes are maintained throughout reconstruction of this major cross-street bridge and a temporary signal is installed on the southbound I-35 frontage road to accommodate access while work is ongoing.”<\/p>\n

Officials confirmed both the drainage tunnel and pump station segment of the project are well underway, with assembly work for the tunnel boring machines near completed. That assemblage is expected to be done by late 2026, and crews will then pivot to constructing the 6.5-mile tunnel through 2029.<\/p>\n

Throughout 2027, crews are poised to wrap excavation work for all drop shafts related to this phase of work. Construction of the pump station itself is already underway, and pouring the structural elements and other foundations for the future facility will be done next year, with completion of the facility earmarked for 2029.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dirt continues to turn on one of the\u00a0largest Interstate 35 reconstruction efforts in decades, with billions of dollars…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,820,59494],"class_list":["post-470501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-mysastaff","tag-mysatranspo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}