Joint Sustainability Committee urges equity review and cautions city on I‑35 'cap and stitch' investments

Transportation Public Works Director Richard Mendoza briefed the Joint Sustainability Committee on the city’s options for ‘cap and stitch’ betterments to TxDOT’s Central I‑35 Capital Express project and the committee adopted a resolution urging council to prioritize equity and carefully weigh trade‑offs before committing city funds.

Mendoza described nine potential locations for caps (land bridges) in the Central I‑35 corridor between Ben White and U.S. 183. The central section was presented in three phases and, for planning purposes, city and TxDOT staff developed a 30% design and preliminary cost estimates. Mendoza said the baseline TxDOT project will put the interstate below grade and widen crossings with 30 feet behind the curb at each crossing; those baseline improvements would proceed whether or not the city builds caps. The city must decide by a TxDOT deadline in late May 2025 whether to “future proof” certain locations—committing to structural roadway elements in TxDOT’s contract so decks can be added without…