New IH-35 Thread (for Austin)...

[Guest Lobo]

Cue Ron Paul...it's Happening! Well, kinda.  Half-way.  Sorta.  Maybe.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20200430/34-billion-added-to-i-35-project-paves-way-to-reconstruct-entire-highway-in-austin

It's a long way to go, but this about half the money needed to completely overhaul IH-35 from 45 down South to 45 up North.  Of course...irony.  It took 2 months of only a handful of drivers each hour to traverse IH-35 through Travis/Williamson County for officials to think, "Hey, I think this thing may be f'ed up."  I know this thing'll end up costing way more than $7bn, but it's a seriously significant start."  I can't wait until a contrarian light rail is proposed alongside it to be built above ground right before sub-surface highway construction begins but hey---Steve Adler can only fuck up so much in a given workday.  Alright, I'll stop the sarcasm.  Maybe flying cars can't work underground in 10 years, but no matter which way you fall on the transportation spectrum---this is huge news coming at a very strange time and there's no denying that.  We've got a transportation thread but this is way beyond that.  This is in addition to the CAMPO plan, plus I'm sure some stimulus money will eventually fall into this bucket after the grifts are done.  I'm not falling one way or the other on vote on whether or not to do this.  But you cannot ignore this much money at this timestamp of the simulation.  

What do y'all think?  

[Michael Knight 12995]

Large decks and widened bridges could cover vast swaths of Interstate 35 in Central Austin after the highway is expanded and lowered underground. Now, the City of Austin is asking for input on what the so-called "caps and stitches" should look like and where they should go.

https://www.kut.org/transportation/2021-12-16/plazas-and-wide-bridges-over-i-35-the-city-of-austin-wants-your-input?fbclid=IwAR3aQKxgR-cwvzqwKxUchfPWzOSB7xjp9ZRjTBTOhc_G5Y4zCWYZ9yUtzoQ

[Guest Lobo]

That’s way better than my ‘caps in snitches’ campaign.  Thanks for posting.  Gonna take some time to digest.  

[ChickenSandwich 9855]

No Gondolas no dice 

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

will.  never.  happen.

 

[ztejas 43548]

Good move by the city of Austin. When they assuredly pick the worst option they can just turn around and say "well we were just going off of the input we got!"

[Blotto 23585]

This I 35 redesign is going to be a colossal clusterfuck

from a TXDOT meeting in August

Quote

Tuesday TxDOT presented alternative plans for I-35 in the heart of downtown Austin. The multi-billion-dollar project adds two non-tolled, managed lanes – like HOV and transit lanes—from 290 East to Ben White Boulevard.

“It’s really important that we take this opportunity to get it right,” said Paige Ellis, district eight council member and chair of the Austin Mobility Committee.

“I think the biggest thing that we're taking away from this is—‘How wide is it?’ and how do we make sure we're not just providing space for cars but we're providing space for people who are on bikes or strollers or wheelchairs to be able to get east and west across I-35 safely,” she added.

its a fucking interstate highway. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Blotto

[AUS-97HORN 11824]

just getting rid of the idiotic upper lower split in the middle of the fucking city and dumping that stupid upper deck section and replacing with a combined lower deck would be a massive improvement.

no more backup for 2 miles due to 3/4 of the drivers deciding to change which lane they want to be in at the last moment based on some perception that one section is moving 1 car faster than the other.  

even if if means only 4 lanes each way and the right 2 are fucked due to exits/enters onto the highway, that would still resolve a huge fucking bottleneck by killing the uppper/lower split.   and if they manage to sneak 1-2 additional lanes each way that would at least help with the "through" traffic on the left lanes each way

 

its still gonna suck, but maybe a little bit less.

[ztejas 43548]

6 minutes ago, Blotto said:

This I 35 redesign is going to be a colossal clusterfuck

from a TXDOT meeting in August

its a fucking interstate highway. 

I get bikes and peds as there is a decent amount of foot traffic with 6th being down there and east Austin really blowing up. 

But yeah - strollers and wheelchairs? Gmafb.

[blacklab 11956]

7 minutes ago, Blotto said:

The multi-billion-dollar project adds two non-tolled, managed lanes

They are going to spend billions to add one lane in each direction? 

[elfenix 34339]

5 minutes ago, blacklab said:

They are going to spend billions to add one lane in each direction? 

the whole thing has to be rebuilt for a big chunk of that space so, yes?

[bschoolprof 6273]

7 minutes ago, blacklab said:

They are going to spend billions to add one lane in each direction? 

sounds about right. But east austin will be integrated with downtown!

[Blotto 23585]

11 minutes ago, blacklab said:

They are going to spend billions to add one lane in each direction? 

There's probably an organic scooter lane in the mix as well. 

[MrBig 5445]

The parks in Dallas on top of the freeways are nice, but it’s a fucking stupid idea if more lanes aren’t being created. And it’s going to cause a bigger need for fire/EMS to scrape the victims off the access road since everyone will be parking in the neighborhoods and darting across traffic to get to the parks. 

[elfenix 34339]

do like columbus, oh, where high street crosses 670 and build a restaurant on it so you don't even realize you're crossing an interstate

 

[TexasEd 8077]

They should run a light rail over the top of the sunken highway and make the parks the stops.  Tie it into the commuter rail at the convention center.  This way they get their alternate modes and don't take away existing lanes of surface roads.

Edited December 16, 2021 by TexasEd

[Ghost of LL 15544]

58 minutes ago, elfenix said:

do like columbus, oh, where high street crosses 670 and build a restaurant on it so you don't even realize you're crossing an interstate

 

That's a good idea, as is a deck park akin to what is in Dallas.  

Either way, it's really important to reconnect East Austin to Downtown.

[atomheartbevo 89841]

8 hours ago, elfenix said:

do like columbus, oh, where high street crosses 670 and build a restaurant on it so you don't even realize you're crossing an interstate

 

That's a bar that seems like it's in the middle of a shit-ton of traffic/streets.

Seems like kind of a bad idea.

[TKthunder2 4999]

8 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

Either way, it's really important to reconnect East Austin to Downtown.

Serious question, why?  The land to the East is already being bought and renovated like crazy.  I35 isn’t stopping gentrification like it used to.  I understand the historical significance, but I don’t understand why people say they need to do it to fix anything other than raising land prices, taxes, so they can open more fucking Juicelands and cupcake shops for the yuppies that will continue to move in driving up rents.  I mean if we’re spending 10 billion then fine make it nicer and get rid of the upper deck but it seems like a weird waste of money.  Expand the bridges across Town Lake so they don’t bottle neck and limit the number of on and off ramps would probably be far more effective.

[pronghorn 44]

i like how dallas put parks on top of highways. it has made hanging out in that area an attraction.

 

/ducks

[RPM 26363]

Who the fuck calls it IH-35? Negged.

[Guest Lobo]

36 minutes ago, RPM said:

Who the fuck calls it IH-35? Negged.

Sorry Stuart.  The 35 from The 71 to The 183.  Next week on.......'The Californians'  

[Ghost of LL 15544]

10 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

Serious question, why?  The land to the East is already being bought and renovated like crazy.  I35 isn’t stopping gentrification like it used to.  I understand the historical significance, but I don’t understand why people say they need to do it to fix anything other than raising land prices, taxes, so they can open more fucking Juicelands and cupcake shops for the yuppies that will continue to move in driving up rents.  I mean if we’re spending 10 billion then fine make it nicer and get rid of the upper deck but it seems like a weird waste of money.  Expand the bridges across Town Lake so they don’t bottle neck and limit the number of on and off ramps would probably be far more effective.

The historical significance is . . . significant.

But even if you don't think it's worth spending a dime to suture over a holdover from Jim Crow, it's still important from a traffic flow (speaking of "traffic" in terms of moving people, not necessarily cars).  An interstate through the middle of a city creates a huge physical and psychological barrier to the movement of people.  From a physical standpoint, it blocks traffic flow.  But from a (perhaps more critical) psychological standpoint, it draws a line in people's minds between "this side" and "the other side."  I don't know precisely why that is, but it is.

Getting rid of that barrier is going to improve density and traffic flow.  And yeah--that improves land valuations and increases tax revenue.  And I don't know why you would dismiss those benefits.  

But beyond that, it also increases quality of life by providing additional park land and other amenities and allows people more efficiently to travel to get to the things offered between Downtown and near East Austin.

2 hours ago, RPM said:

Who the fuck calls it IH-35? Negged.

It's the "Interregional."  Or IH-35.  And if you call it something else, then you're a goddamned Californian.

[CooterBrown 18033]

Who the fuck calls it IH-35? Negged.

It’s the official TxDOT designation. They have a two letter abbreviation for the 20-odd different highway types. So, it’s officially IH-35 not the usual I-35 nomenclature.

[royiv 9382]

Team I-35. No H.

[Guest Lobo]

Verbally it’s I-35.  On every map or sign, it reads IH-35.  
 

it is interesting all the people that move here From California l, not a one of em refers to it as “The-35.”  They bring all their other bullshit, but they don’t bring that for some reason.  Strange. 
 

 But from East Avenue/Rainey up to Airport Blvd., it is fucking excruciating to cross  35 back and forth through town.  Not a single, solitary intersection with any modicum of logistical prowess.  Just ignorance and stupidity.  So much of those actually, that If it weren’t for the decrepit condition of the underpasses, you could almost swear it was built in 2020.  

[ztejas 43548]

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

Getting rid of that barrier is going to improve density and traffic flow.  And yeah--that improves land valuations and increases tax revenue.  And I don't know why you would dismiss those benefits.  

But there isn't a barrier at all right now. You can easily walk either under or over it throughout the entire stretch that borders downtown and UT. 

It seems like they are trying to improve automobile traffic, beautify the area a bit, and make it safer for pedestrians and bicycles. 

[texasdago 7587]

I love the idea of cap and stitch... has so much potential but also like the idea of the light rail running above.

[Ghost of LL 15544]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

But there isn't a barrier at all right now. You can easily walk either under or over it throughout the entire stretch that borders downtown and UT. 

It seems like they are trying to improve automobile traffic, beautify the area a bit, and make it safer for pedestrians and bicycles. 

How many people do you see walking across IH-35 anywhere from MLK to the River?  I mean, exclude the homeless for a minute.  It's just not something you ever see.

Now contrast it to how many people you will routinely see crossing Woodall Rodgers in Dallas or walking over I-93 in Boston.

I'm not questioning whether it's physically possible to walk across 35.  It is.  But it's a huge psychological barrier.  It screams "pedestrians not welcome."  And so people don't walk across it.

It's like when I worked in Dallas.   @DDD Dad and I decided to go over to Pecan Lodge one day from our office in Downtown.  I said, fuck it--let's walk.  He said it was waaaaay too far.  Bullshit--it's like five blocks; it's closer than the federal courthouse (to which we walked routinely).  We got out a map, and goddamned if I wasn't right. 

But here's the thing--I-345 was between us and Pecan Lodge.  And it's a huge psychological barrier.  There's a sidewalk there and everything, so it's easy enough to walk under the freeway.  But nobody does.  Nobody even thinks to.  Because it's a fucking freeway--it screams "don't walk under me."

So yeah--we walked to Pecan Lodge.  But I've never even heard of anybody else ever walking to Deep Ellum from Downtown.

[DDD Dad 14356]

1 minute ago, Ghost of LL said:

How many people do you see walking across IH-35 anywhere from MLK to the River?  I mean, exclude the homeless for a minute.  It's just not something you ever see.

Now contrast it to how many people you will routinely see crossing Woodall Rodgers in Dallas or walking over I-93 in Boston.

I'm not questioning whether it's physically possible to walk across 35.  It is.  But it's a huge psychological barrier.  It screams "pedestrians not welcome."  And so people don't walk across it.

It's like when I worked in Dallas.   @DDD Dad and I decided to go over to Pecan Lodge one day from our office in Downtown.  I said, fuck it--let's walk.  He said it was waaaaay too far.  Bullshit--it's like five blocks; it's closer than the federal courthouse (to which we walked routinely).  We got out a map, and goddamned if I wasn't right. 

But here's the thing--I-345 was between us and Pecan Lodge.  And it's a huge psychological barrier.  There's a sidewalk there and everything, so it's easy enough to walk under the freeway.  But nobody does.  Nobody even thinks to.  Because it's a fucking freeway--it screams "don't walk under me."

So yeah--we walked to Pecan Lodge.  But I've never even heard of anybody else ever walking to Deep Ellum from Downtown.

And we sat at the bar, which is where you want to go if you don't want to stand in line.

[MrBig 5445]

13 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

Serious question, why?  The land to the East is already being bought and renovated like crazy.  I35 isn’t stopping gentrification like it used to.  I understand the historical significance, but I don’t understand why people say they need to do it to fix anything other than raising land prices, taxes, so they can open more fucking Juicelands and cupcake shops for the yuppies that will continue to move in driving up rents.  I mean if we’re spending 10 billion then fine make it nicer and get rid of the upper deck but it seems like a weird waste of money.  Expand the bridges across Town Lake so they don’t bottle neck and limit the number of on and off ramps would probably be far more effective.

This is frustrates me the most. The focus of improving 35 should be on adding lanes and improving traffic flow to get rid of the bottlenecks downtown. Frontage roads need to be improved so your exit lane doesn’t suddenly become a left turn only lane when you get off the interstate. Why focus on pedestrians and green space when we need to solve the automobile flow/capacity issues first? I’m all for green spaces, but putting parks and pedestrian access at the forefront of this issue is like complaining about not having leather seats when your car is riding on 4 donut spares. 

[ztejas 43548]

52 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

How many people do you see walking across IH-35 anywhere from MLK to the River?  I mean, exclude the homeless for a minute.  It's just not something you ever see.

Now contrast it to how many people you will routinely see crossing Woodall Rodgers in Dallas or walking over I-93 in Boston.

I'm not questioning whether it's physically possible to walk across 35.  It is.  But it's a huge psychological barrier.  It screams "pedestrians not welcome."  And so people don't walk across it.

It's like when I worked in Dallas.   @DDD Dad and I decided to go over to Pecan Lodge one day from our office in Downtown.  I said, fuck it--let's walk.  He said it was waaaaay too far.  Bullshit--it's like five blocks; it's closer than the federal courthouse (to which we walked routinely).  We got out a map, and goddamned if I wasn't right. 

But here's the thing--I-345 was between us and Pecan Lodge.  And it's a huge psychological barrier.  There's a sidewalk there and everything, so it's easy enough to walk under the freeway.  But nobody does.  Nobody even thinks to.  Because it's a fucking freeway--it screams "don't walk under me."

So yeah--we walked to Pecan Lodge.  But I've never even heard of anybody else ever walking to Deep Ellum from Downtown.

Okay but you said physical and physiological. It isn't a physical barrier. Plenty of people cross at Cesar Chavez or 6th on the weekends. Same for up by campus on football game days. The entire area is swarming during SXSW. 

I agree there's a psychological aspect and it could be made less of an eyesore and opened up a bit and made safer. But walking from dirty 6th to east of 35 6th and 7th or crossing Cesar Chavez to get to Rainey or get back to your air bnb isn't some terrifying mental block. Maybe it used to be. 

Also - the reason I might not want to be walking around down there is due to all of the homeless hanging around which is sort of a separate issue.

I mean I'm literally down here right now. There's tons of people milling about taking lime scooters up and down CC. 

There's a whole foods on 5th bordering 35. Have you actually been down here lately?

Edited December 17, 2021 by ztejas

[Ghost of LL 15544]

20 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Okay but you said physical and physiological. It isn't a physical barrier. Plenty of people cross at Cesar Chavez or 6th on the weekends. Same for up by campus on football game days. The entire area is swarming during SXSW. 

I agree there's a psychological aspect and it could be made less of an eyesore and opened up a bit and made safer. But walking from dirty 6th to east of 35 6th and 7th or crossing Cesar Chavez to get to Rainey or get back to your air bnb isn't some terrifying mental block. Maybe it used to be. 

Also - the reason I might not want to be walking around down there is due to all of the homeless hanging around which is sort of a separate issue.

I mean I'm literally down here right now. There's tons of people milling about taking lime scooters up and down CC. 

The physical barrier causes the psychological barrier.  And that creates the homeless attraction.

Look at Boston--by covering I-93 and making the area attractive, people actually want to walk from the North End to the Public Market (and vice-versa).  It used to be quite the opposite.  You could always make that walk along Hanover, but nobody would want to (and nobody did). 

And that attracts the homeless.  The homeless generally don't want to be around other people; they go where there are no pedestrians.  So it is a self-reinforcing phenomenon that the infrastructure doesn't invite pedestrians (and actually discourages them), the homeless move in because there are no pedestrians, and so pedestrians are even further discouraged.

Make the area attractive for pedestrians, and you're going to see more amenities, more retail, more activity, fewer homeless, and less crime.

[DDD Dad 14356]

21 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

The physical barrier causes the psychological barrier.  And that creates the homeless attraction.

Look at Boston--by covering I-93 and making the area attractive, people actually want to walk from the North End to the Public Market (and vice-versa).  It used to be quite the opposite.  You could always make that walk along Hanover, but nobody would want to (and nobody did). 

And that attracts the homeless.  The homeless generally don't want to be around other people; they go where there are no pedestrians.  So it is a self-reinforcing phenomenon that the infrastructure doesn't invite pedestrians (and actually discourages them), the homeless move in because there are no pedestrians, and so pedestrians are even further discouraged.

Make the area attractive for pedestrians, and you're going to see more amenities, more retail, more activity, fewer homeless, and less crime.

Austin should have made I-35 a toll road from Georgetown (at 130/45) to Manchaca and made the loops freeways.  Adding lanes through the center city, especially free ones, is a bad idea.  Traffic inevitably fills the lanes available.

Edited December 17, 2021 by DDD Dad

[ChickenSandwich 9855]

31 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

The physical barrier causes the psychological barrier.  And that creates the homeless attraction.

Look at Boston--by covering I-93 and making the area attractive, people actually want to walk from the North End to the Public Market (and vice-versa).  It used to be quite the opposite.  You could always make that walk along Hanover, but nobody would want to (and nobody did). 

And that attracts the homeless.  The homeless generally don't want to be around other people; they go where there are no pedestrians.  So it is a self-reinforcing phenomenon that the infrastructure doesn't invite pedestrians (and actually discourages them), the homeless move in because there are no pedestrians, and so pedestrians are even further discouraged.

Make the area attractive for pedestrians, and you're going to see more amenities, more retail, more activity, fewer homeless, and less crime.

That may be, but who would it serve by the time the project is finished?  The East side gentrifiers. The cost to move in is already well above what a middle class family could afford. It will be almost exclusively used by the affluent and the homeless, while bringing minimal relief for traffic and congestion (more likely used by the working and middle class). 
 

It will greatly benefit all of the downtown developments, but those aren’t “family” or working class housing options. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by ChickenSandwich

[elfenix 34339]

see also embarcadero expressway demolition

[DDD Dad 14356]

Freeways and expressways should run into or around cities, not through the heart of them.  I won't go CR but will only comment that much of the Eisenhower interstate system's choices of freeway locations were devastating on many inner-city neighborhoods, many of which have never returned.

[Ghost of LL 15544]

1 hour ago, ChickenSandwich said:

That may be, but who would it serve by the time the project is finished?  The East side gentrifiers. The cost to move in is already well above what a middle class family could afford. It will be almost exclusively used by the affluent and the homeless, while bringing minimal relief for traffic and congestion (more likely used by the working and middle class). 
 

It will greatly benefit all of the downtown developments, but those aren’t “family” or working class housing options. 

I don't agree with that.  But even if I did, so what?

The benefit is to the city at large.  The public gets a new amenity, developments are able to become more dense, which reduces traffic, and transit is facilitated between neighboring areas.  What's the downside?

Look at the demolition of the Alaska Skyway in Seattle or the Embarcadero Expressway in San Francisco. Or the covering of I-93 in Boston or Woodwall Rodgers in Dallas.  These projects have benefited everyone right across the socio-economic spectrum.

I appreciate your concern trolling, but it's a little bit silly to hear you bemoan a government project benefiting the affluent.  It's as wrong as it is disingenuous.  

[royiv 9382]

^^^^

All of the above. Additionally, density creates additional tax revenue at a lower cost, financially and environmentally, than suburban development.

[Guest Lobo]

(Takes hit of joint)…what If the vertical Capitol view corridor restrictions were never clarified for above/below ground and the new buried I-35 depth violated them?   Height is just an above ground construct man.  

[MrBig 5445]

4 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

The benefit is to the city at large.  The public gets a new amenity, developments are able to become more dense, which reduces traffic, and transit is facilitated between neighboring areas.  What's the downside?

 

The downside is that 35 traffic flow is still shit and the budget is prioritizing the “unity” of Austin by putting green spaces on top of 35 instead of a realistic plan to improve traffic flow in the downtown corridor. Cap and stitch parks will help make east Austin more dense while adding to the overall traffic problem. This is just moving all the shitty lanes above ground to an underground space without fixing the real problem. We don’t need all the extra pedestrian foot traffic on top unless we can solve the 35 traffic problem below. Add more lanes to stop the bottlenecks and improvement of the frontage roads is the first step. 

[ChickenSandwich 9855]

35 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I don't agree with that.  But even if I did, so what?

The benefit is to the city at large.  The public gets a new amenity, developments are able to become more dense, which reduces traffic, and transit is facilitated between neighboring areas.  What's the downside?

Look at the demolition of the Alaska Skyway in Seattle or the Embarcadero Expressway in San Francisco. Or the covering of I-93 in Boston or Woodwall Rodgers in Dallas.  These projects have benefited everyone right across the socio-economic spectrum.

I appreciate your concern trolling, but it's a little bit silly to hear you bemoan a government project benefiting the affluent.  It's as wrong as it is disingenuous.  

My response was addressing your view the freeway is still today, in 2021, a psychological barrier that needs to be addressed for that purpose. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by ChickenSandwich

[DaggerHorns 3102]

It’s always been a convenient parking lot. It’s right in the middle of town, close to UT, etc.

[DDD Dad 14356]

22 minutes ago, MrBig said:

The downside is that 35 traffic flow is still shit and the budget is prioritizing the “unity” of Austin by putting green spaces on top of 35 instead of a realistic plan to improve traffic flow in the downtown corridor. Cap and stitch parks will help make east Austin more dense while adding to the overall traffic problem. This is just moving all the shitty lanes above ground to an underground space without fixing the real problem. We don’t need all the extra pedestrian foot traffic on top unless we can solve the 35 traffic problem below. Add more lanes to stop the bottlenecks and improvement of the frontage roads is the first step. 

Maybe the better goal is to improve traffic flow into and out of downtown rather than maintaining a flow through it.  In addition to the daily traffic that utilizes 35 to get in and around town, there is a ton of traffic that flows through Austin (think NAFTA/USMCA plus everyone else wanting to get to San Antonio or Dallas or wherever through Austin) filling up that corridor.

Improving flow would be much better served by diverting all of that traffic that brings no value to the CBD and only deteriorates the infrastructure with no revenue received in return, while making things difficult for those who do provide a benefit to the area to get around.

[MrBig 5445]

11 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Maybe the better goal is to improve traffic flow into and out of downtown rather than maintaining a flow through it.  In addition to the daily traffic that utilizes 35 to get in and around town, there is a ton of traffic that flows through Austin (think NAFTA/USMCA plus everyone else wanting to get to San Antonio or Dallas or wherever through Austin) filling up that corridor.

Improving flow would be much better served by diverting all of that traffic that brings no value to the CBD and only deteriorates the infrastructure with no revenue received in return, while making things difficult for those who do provide a benefit to the area to get around.

We can’t fix the downtown traffic flow problem caused by NAFTA & through traffic without swapping SH 130 with 35 to make one a toll and the other an Eisenhower freeway.

This is never going to happen so we need to figure out how to make 35 downtown more efficient for both local and domestic traffic by improving traffic related issues instead of worrying about park space and bike lanes.

[royiv 9382]

7 minutes ago, MrBig said:

This is never going to happen so we need to figure out how to make 35 downtown more efficient for both local and domestic traffic by improving traffic related issues instead of worrying about park space and bike lanes.

I'm curious why so many think these are mutually exclusive goals?

[Hefeweizen 5336]

My favorite part of this project is that the city of Austin has created a whole new position just to handle utility line relocations along 35. I’d rather scrub elephant ass all day than do that job.

[DalTxHornFan 3119]

Elephant ass talk not going away.

[Deej 76963]

Do any of these new IH-35 plans provide convenient places for rock throwing?

Asking for TxTow.

[Murfdogg21 4432]

If they do this buried freeway and it’s no more than 4 lanes in each direction, it will be a bigger fail than banning Uber or encouraging public “camping.” Nobody is going to take 130 around downtown unless they remove the tolls, which the state/county won’t. There’s 4 lanes each way already and it’s a clusterfuck. Removing the awkward upper/lower deck split won’t change much and certainly isn’t worth multi-billions and a year or more shutdown of 35.