Latest news with #I-35CapandStitch
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I-35 Cap and Stitch project in jeopardy due to federal funding cuts
The Brief The I-35 Cap and Stitch project in the heart of Austin is in jeopardy Federal money promised to Austin could be going away due to cuts The Austin City Council has a deadline of May 22 to decide on funding AUSTIN, Texas - Federal funding for parks and bridges over an expanded I-35 may be in jeopardy. TxDOT's project in the heart of Austin allows for the city to pay for real estate on top of the interstate. However, federal money promised to Austin could be going away due to federal spending cuts. What they're saying The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has been instructed to scale back on spending federal dollars. Now, the Neighborhood Access & Equity grant program money is in jeopardy. This includes the $105 million the United States Department of Transportation awarded to the Cesar Chavez-4th Street portion of the I-35 Cap and Stitch. According to the City of Austin, the grant was placed under 90-day review by the federal government, and it is unclear if the funds will be granted. "This is funding that's supposed to address just the frontline needs of people who live near highways. It was already awarded by our federal government at this point to withdraw that funding is just a broken promise," says Tom Wald, Redline Parkway Initiative, Executive Director. Tom Wald is a part of the Fund the Caps Coalition, in favor of bringing the Caps and Stitches over I-35. He is also the executive director of the Redline Parkway Initiative. "The mission is to support the 32-plus-mile trail along the Capital Metro red line from downtown Austin up to Leander. Since the I-35 corridor crosses our corridor twice, the I-35 project plays a key role in our project as well. I think most of the people in your audience have seen the I-35 project included with the caps and that has kind of been understood as being part of the project, and we want to make sure that it gets over the finish line," says Wald. The Cap and Stitch project would create public spaces over the highway. There is a plan to build at least five caps for the freeway from Cesar Chavez up to the Cherry Wood neighborhood. It would cost the city $1.4 billion if federal dollars are not rewarded. "This is a long project that will occur over 30 years. There'll be plenty of other opportunities for the city to apply for federal funding. So, the potential loss of this funding at this time is unfortunate. There will be other opportunities for the city to get similar funding," says Wald. What's next The Austin City Council has a deadline of May 22 to decide on funding the roadway elements. The committee's plan will be added to other bills scaling back federal spending, and it will head to the House floor in May. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Tan Radford
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$105M federal grant for Austin's I-35 ‘cap and stitch' project on shaky ground
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council members received several major transportation updates during its Mobility Committee meeting Thursday including how federal grants may be impacted by changes in federal leadership and a progress update on Austin's light rail project. The committee also looked at the mobility project planning process and got a report from the Transportation and Public Works Department (TPWD) on mobility programs and projects in progress. You can find the full meeting details here. TPWD said city staff are reviewing current and pending federal funding agreements after the Department of Transportation (DOT) put out new guidance on how funding will be distributed to better align with the priorities of President Donald Trump's administration. Austin 'to monitor' for impact of Trump orders, $1.2B in federal grants 'jeopardized': Memo Federal grants that have already been awarded and executed 'may be on stronger footing,' city staff said. Still, $220 million in grants for transportation projects could be in jeopardy, the Intergovernmental Relations Office said in a memo. Some of the pending federal transportation funding that transportation staff are watching closely include: $105 million for the I-35 Cap and Stitch project $32 million for the Barton Springs Road Bridge $10 million on 'Safer Streets for All' 'I apologize I am not here with better news,' Carrie Rogers, intergovernmental relations officer for the city of Austin's TPWD, said. She later continued: 'What we have asked staff to do is continue proceeding as they were before.' Caps and stitches are the green spaces, pedestrian access and infrastructure over and through TxDOT's I-35 expansion project. Though the expansion project is TxDOT's, the city of Austin is responsible for paying for any caps and stitches it wants added to the project. The goal of those caps and stitches is to better connect the city, instead of that highway being a barrier between central and east Austin. Richard Mendoza, director of the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department, has previously told KXAN the cap and stitch project could cost anywhere from $600 million to $800 million to fully construct the decks as well as the amenities on top. The city will need to make a formal commitment to the Texas Department of Transportation on those caps and stitches — along with associated funding soon. After TxDOT delayed a vote late last year, Austin City Council is slated for a March 2025 vote on those funding commitments, KXAN most previously reported. Austin's vote on multi-million-dollar I-35 capping program delayed 'I do think it's fair to say, and we want to make sure that leadership understands, it's going to be a very different time,' Rogers said. 'Those very large grants may be out of reach for us for some time.' Perhaps a question you're asking — when will the light rail voters approved be built? As is indicated on ATP's Project Connect website, Austin Transportation Partnership staff told city council members they're currently in the planning, early design and project development phase. That phase involves gathering public feedback. In 2026-2027 ATP will move to engineering, permitting and final design and in 2027-2033 ATP expects to begin the construction and testing phase, staff said. New stations, urban greenway detailed in Austin's Project Connect light rail impact draft 'The ground will be prepped and excavated. Light rail tracks, stations, and pedestrian and cyclist paths will be built. Trains will be manufactured, delivered and tested,' ATP's website said of that construction and testing phase. ATP staff also walked city council members through several updates to the Project Connect light rail phase 1 plan that were introduced through the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) released last month. One proposal is the introduction of a pedestrian and bike lane for the duration of the five stations planned for East Riverside Drive. You can read more about those proposed changes and the DEIS here. KXAN has a landing page dedicated to coverage of Project Connect. You can find all the latest updates and reports here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
