Austin is moving ahead with a $104 million commitment to preserve future deck and public-space options over Interstate 35, even as the city has not secured funding to build the full cap-and-stitch program.
The Austin City Council finalized a resolution that ensures an Advanced Funding Agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for roadway and foundation elements tied to TxDOT’s I-35 Capital Express Central project. The support work would be incorporated into the larger highway reconstruction and is intended to improve locations where city officials could later build caps and stitches over the lowered interstate.
The Our Future 35 program is Austin’s companion effort to TxDOT’s multibillion-dollar plan to widen and lower I-35 through central Austin. The city’s long-term vision calls for public decks over the highway to reconnect downtown and East Austin with parks, plazas, mobility connections and possible small buildings or venues.
The current plan includes three downtown caps totaling nearly 11 acres between Cesar Chavez Street and 12th Street, along with two northern stitches covering more than 3 acres near 41st Street and the CapMetro Red Line.
The $104 million commitment does not pay for the finished decks or amenities. Instead, it would fund Phase 1 roadway elements at Cesar Chavez to Fourth Street, Fourth to Seventh streets, 11th to 12th streets and the northern stitch locations. City materials identify the funding package as a $41 million Texas State Infrastructure Bank loan and $63 million in tax-exempt Certificates of Obligation or other city funding sources.
The decision follows the withdrawal of a scaled-down proposal from Mayor Kirk Watson that would have reduced the near-term scope. With that alternative off the table, Austin is proceeding with the broader support-infrastructure strategy.
Foundation-related work is expected to move through TxDOT’s Capital Express Central delivery, with possible letting for infrastructure foundations in fall 2028, according to city documents.
Photo by Larry D. Moore from Wikimedia Commons
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