The Texas Department of Transportation has unveiled an updated $8.1 billion plan to build two toll lanes in each direction of I-35 from RM 1431 in Round Rock to SH 45 SE near Buda.
Adding two managed lanes in both directions will relieve congestion.
The $20 million environmental study of the agency’s plan should be completed by 2019. The agency has already been soliciting feedback from residents through three separate environmental studies.
Agency officials report adding four total managed lanes would require extensive reconstruction of I-35.
Options for fitting the managed lanes in include lowering I-35 in downtown Austin, removing the upper decks from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Airport Boulevard or building the managed lanes under the main lanes in areas with little right of way.
Operational improvements would also be included, such as extending entrance and exit ramps, adding lanes to bypass an intersection and adding pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
Projects in Hays County, North Austin, South Austin and Round Rock are already under way to improve traffic flow.
In March, the Texas Transportation Commission approved $2.6 billion in funding for projects in the state’s largest metropolitan areas. Funding was approved as part of the agency’s Texas Clear Lanes initiative.
