Highway coverings are coming to Austin. Here's how to weigh in on design work

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- With Interstate 35's expansion near downtown Austin poised to begin in the coming months, residents can help shape design work on the city-led initiative to add highway coverings to the interstate. The City of Austin's Our Future 35 program is collecting community feedback through Aug. 2 via an online survey.

The Texas Department of Transportation's I-35 Capital Express Central project is a $4.5 billion, eight-mile endeavor to expand the highway corridor, with the inclusion of sinking portions of the highway. Our Future 35 is working to develop public spaces above those lowered regions, with the possibility of up to 30 acres of new land via the highway caps.

City transportation leaders held a public open house May 18 to showcase possible amenity options and solicit feedback from attendees. Possible community features on top of the highway coverings could include:

• Parkland: Open spaces, trees, walking and bicycle trails, play areas, landscaping
• One-story or two-story buildings: City officials said they couldn't construct anything taller than two stories due to engineering constraints
• Community attractions: Space for local businesses, farmers markets, cultural event spaces, art and performance spaces, dog parks
• Renewable energy generation sites, like solar panels
• Pollinator gardens
• Public art
• Sports and recreation courts
• Water features like splash pads, misters, etc.
• Micromobility stations for electric bikes, scooters

Along with these features, officials have proposed a possible East Avenue Trail, which would connect caps and stitches constructed along the I-35 corridor via the caps and stitches. East Avenue was replaced by I-35, with the highway's construction displacing predominantly non-white neighborhoods.

That proposed trail would link up with surrounding trail networks, including the Ann and Roy Butler Trail at Lady Bird Lake.

Under the Our Future 35 program roadmap, officials are poised to host another public open house in September before compiling and releasing a public engagement report in the fall. From there, leaders will identify vision, goals and cap concepts residents expressed interest in.

More information on the city's ongoing community feedback process is available online.