Sinking interstate would create land for development and parks
As the Texas Department of Transportation solicits ideas for the future of I-35, a vision is being proposed that would radically alter Central Austin.
A plan proposed by urban designer and architect Sinclair Black would sink I-35 underground from Lady Bird Lake to 15th Street, place a cap above the interstate and turn the land I-35 now occupies into mixed-use development, an urban boulevard and parkland. Black, who began seriously discussing the plan with city leaders and groups in March, said the cut and cap plan would be a significantly better alternative to expanding I-35 above ground.
"People need to know that they need to choose between a perpetuation of the barrier that we have in the building of more elevated [I-35] freeway lanes or to take a deep breath and solve the problem once and for all and forever," he said.
The total cut and cap project cost, which Black estimated at $550 million, would be more than offset with the revenue generated from up to four new toll lanes and the sale and property tax created from the new land above I-35, he said.
