Mixed vibes about I-35 caps
Are the northern caps worth it?
It's hard to figure out where exactly City Council is heading on the I-35 Cap & Stitch program.
There is clearly majority support to build the three caps proposed for downtown, which have a total estimated cost of $561 million. It also appears clear that the northernmost cap, between the Red Line crossing of I-35 and Airport Blvd (est cost: $226M) is no longer being considered. The two "stitches" (just wider versions of bridges) downtown are also probably dead.
(Separately UT-Austin is also planning to build a 13 acre cap along the campus)
But what's unclear is what's going to happen with the two other northern caps –– the ones between 38th 1/2 St-41st St and 41st St & the Redline. Nobody is proposing coming up with the funds needed to build the caps themselves, but some are pushing for the city to pay for the foundational elements that will allow the caps to be built at some point in the future, perhaps decades from now. If the elements are not built as part of the highway expansion that TxDOT is kicking off soon, then the caps will never be possible. And TxDOT needs a commitment for the foundational elements by May 22.
Unfortunately, the elements for the northern caps are far more expensive: $125M. To actually build the northern caps would be an estimated additional $228M, but again, nobody is proposing doing that in the near-term.
