When will TxDOT kick off I-35 expansion project in downtown Austin?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin drivers traveling across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will soon notice some changes along their commute, as the Texas Department of Transportation inches toward the start of its Interstate 35 expansion project near downtown.

The I-35 Capital Express Central project will kick off with the reconstruction of the MLK Bridge. TxDOT said barriers will be placed later this month, with drivers likely to notice more robust construction activity later this year or in early 2025.

A TxDOT spokesperson said reconstruction work on the MLK Bridge will be done in segments, with the bridge expected to be open "for the most part" throughout construction.

The $4.5 billion, eight-mile project will overhaul and expand the interstate from U.S. Highway 290 East to State Highway 71 and Ben White Boulevard. It's the third and final in a series of TxDOT-led projects to kickstart, joining the I-35 Capital Express North and I-35 Capital Express South projects already under construction.

A TxDOT spokesperson told KXAN Thursday the state department will tackle this Central project in six phases:

• MLK Bridge
• Lady Bird Lake
• Drainage tunnel under I-35 and Cesar Chavez Street
• CapMetro and Red Line bridges at Airport Boulevard and Fourth Street
• The University of Texas at Austin area
• Downtown

After the MLK Bridge, the next phase set to get underway is Lady Bird Lake. The spokesperson confirmed that portion of the project should begin in early 2025.

Current timelines anticipate the MLK Bridge work will wrap in 2026, with Lady Bird Lake overhauls running from next year through 2031. Drainage tunnel work is earmarked to run until 2027, with work in the UT area expected to run from 2026 to 2031 and improvements to the CapMetro and Red Line bridges slated to begin next year and complete in 2028.

TxDOT said it will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Central project at a yet-to-be-determined date.