Austin seeks input on amenities to go on I-35 highway coverings
Austin community members will have opportunities this spring and summer to weigh in on the city's "Cap and Stitch" program, or highway coverings on top of the soon-to-be-expanded Interstate 35.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin community members will have opportunities this spring and summer to weigh in on the city's "Cap and Stitch" program, or highway coverings on top of the soon-to-be-expanded Interstate 35.
Our Future 35 will host an open house event on Saturday, May 18 at Austin Community College's Highland campus, located at 6108 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Bldg. 2000. The event is free and open to the public, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The planned improvements comes amid the Texas Department of Transportation's I-35 Capital Express Central project, which is set to begin construction this year. That $4.5 billion, eight-mile project will widen the highway and remove the upper decks, giving city leaders the opportunity to add highway coverings.
"[T]he City of Austin has proposed the construction of caps and stitches to cover portions of the highway between overpasses, allowing for the creation of green, open and public gathering spaces and enhancing connections between East and West Austin," city officials said in a Monday mobility newsletter.
Event attendees will be able to review and give feedback on early conceptual sketches for all of the caps and stitches, as well as share their thoughts on what kinds of amenities should be included. Those can range anywhere from green space to small, public buildings, the newsletter noted.
The event will also feature balloon, art face painting, music, refreshments, free childcare and free parking.
City officials said more community stakeholder events are planned this summer, with a second open house event planned in September "to discuss input received and show refined concepts for the Our Future 35 project," the newsletter said.
More details on the program are available online.