By Sinclair Black FAIA

In TxDOT’s proposal to expand and rebuild I-35 through central Austin, they are planning to combine the current northbound and southbound frontage roads into an “urban boulevard,” running along the western edge of the highway through downtown. This proposal is nothing but a lesser version of Reconnect Austin’s vision for a full cap over I-35 on which a true urban boulevard could run – and lacks its many benefits to the city. A true, high-quality urban boulevard on top of a full cap would be high volume and low speed, with an emphasis on safety and multimodal transit and lined with trees for shade and to combat the urban heat island effect. The configuration of the urban boulevard on top of the cap would put it within the existing highway’s right of way (ROW), allowing the edges (land currently used by the frontage roads) to be redeveloped into a mix of uses, including affordable housing.

TxDOT is uninterested in urban development and adding value to the city. They claim that it is too expensive to place the boulevard anywhere but next to the expanded highway. The land TxDOT is planning to turn into the so-called “boulevard,” which runs along the western edge of the current highway, is of great value to the city of Austin. It is prime real estate for housing and entertainment as part of a mixed-use downtown expansion. In reality, it is TxDOT’s “boulevard” proposal that is too expensive. The poor configuration of their plan, coupled with the taking of valuable real estate downtown, creates a scenario of incalculable lost opportunity.

Boston is well known for its highway burial and cap project The Big Dig, which included a full cap and has brought the city great economic success. Austin is on the verge of its own project by TxDOT, but this huge lost opportunity may come to be known as The Big Ditch.

The only logical place for a true, high-quality urban boulevard is on a full cap above the sunken highway, which has the following potential benefits:

• Sunken highway & cap are only one project rather than two when you factor in the land cost. The full cap is the least expensive solution in both the short as well as the long term, in addition to the quality-of-life issues that will be affected by TxDOT’s proposed plans.
• Full cap allows pollution control measures that would be an important step against climate change.
• By capping the full ROW, Austin can avoid creating an even bigger divide between East and West Austin known as The Big Ditch.

The cost of TxDOT’s worst idea is enormous but the opportunity cost of Austin’s future is infinitely greater.