The I-35 Capital Express Central project is located in the central region of the Austin metropolitan area, along I-35 between US 290 East and SH 71/Ben White Boulevard.
The project may impact UT Austin campus visitors. Current activity is occurring along the MLK Bridge. This webpage serves as a hub to redirect you to TxDOT’s most up-to-date info on the project.
Resources
- For updates on current closures and construction, visit DriveTexas
- For current social media updates, visit TXDot's X account
- Learn more about TxDOT's plans for I35
Upcoming Activity
The next phase of work to widen the bridge includes partial demolition, which will begin on the north side of the bridge. To facilitate the demolition and construction, workers will close off the north portion of the bridge, and this is expected to remain in effect for eight months. Travel lanes will decrease from four lanes down to three, with two for eastbound traffic and one for westbound traffic. Additionally, there will be two exit closures: the southbound Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard exit from the I-35 upper deck and the northbound on-ramp to I-35 north of 15th Street.
Traffic will continue to flow both east and west, and there will be one pedestrian pathway on the south side of the MLK bridge. Cyclists may dismount and use the pedestrian path to cross the bridge or share the lanes with vehicles.
Temporary Nightly Closures
TxDOT has made the University aware that there will be occasional nightly closures to facilitate demolition activity. These temporary closures will occur from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and will cause main lane closures on Interstate 35 from the 15th Street exit to the Manor Road exit.
There will also be full closures of the MLK Bridge on evenings where there is active demolition activity. During these closures, all traffic, including vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists will be detoured to cross I-35 at either Manor Road or 15th Street via the I-35 frontage roads. There will be no pedestrian access on the MLK Bridge during nightly closures.
The UT community and campus visitors can anticipate that travel in and out of campus on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard may take more time and should plan routes accordingly.
The expected completion date of the MLK Bridge Reconstruction is Spring/Summer of 2026.
The adjusted traffic pattern below is expected to go into effect on April 14, 2025.
