The Texas Department of Transportation says travelers on I-35 in North Austin this weekend need to plan ahead to avoid delays.
Work continues on the stretch between Rundberg Lane and U.S. 290 East. From 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, the northbound lanes will be closed and traffic will shift to the southbound lanes.
“If you can find an alternate route, do so. There are several other options to go north or south through the Austin area,” said Brad Wheelis, a spokesman for TxDOT. "You want to avoid that [area] just because traffic is going to bottleneck when we go down to two lanes” each way.
MAJOR TRAFFIC SHIFT on I-35 this weekend. Traffic will be reduced to two lanes in each direction from US 290 East to Rundberg Lane. NB traffic will shift west. Avoid this stretch of I-35 if you can. #My35 #ATXtraffic https://t.co/BoU3EbJrgF
— TxDOT Austin (@TxDOTAustin) July 11, 2019
This weekend, crews will demolish the remaining half of a bridge near St. Johns Avenue and install large steel beams for a new flyover to U.S. 183. It is just one of many projects in the area being conducted by TxDOT or other agencies that is slowing traffic and causing disruptions for drivers.
TxDOT crews have also been at work on I-35 near East Oltorf Street in South Austin. The work prompted an overnight closure of the southbound lanes this past Tuesday.
Also, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has shifted southbound traffic on U.S. 183 over the Colorado River in Austin as work begins on tearing down and replacing the northbound bridge over the waterway. The work is expected to last for a year.
Wheelis said while transportation officials understand the frustrations, the work is necessary to relieve long-term congestion.
“A number of the projects, when we find the funding, we know the folks who travel in Austin and through Austin want some relief, so we get to work on these projects as soon as we can,” Wheelis said. “It just so happens that we’re at certain phases of the project where we need to do some lane closures or traffic shifts.”
More information on the projects can be found at my35construction.org.
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