A national nonprofit organization advocating for the removal of freeways across the country has named I-35 in Austin on its 2025 list of "freeways without futures."
The latest report from Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) included nine U.S. freeways where the infrastructure is "nearing the end of its functional life." The report also highlights local efforts and campaigns offering an alternative solution that reconnects and prioritizes local communities while addressing environmental and ecological damage.
Austin's infamous I-35 has been included in every "Freeways without Futures" report over the last several years, as far back as 2019. New to the 2025 edition is Houston's I-45 expansion that connects the city to Galveston.
Many Austin residents are aware of the city's racist 1928 Master Plan that forced Black and Latino communities to relocate to East Austin. East Avenue, a four-lane boulevard, was replaced with the 12-lane highway now known as I-35, further reinforcing racial segregation, disconnecting neighborhoods, and inevitably generating high levels of air pollution.
The report also mentioned that I-35's traffic fatalities constitute a quarter of the city's total, yet the Texas Department of Transportation has continued to move forward with multiple expansion projects.
"Despite overwhelming opposition to expansion from residents and elected leaders, TxDOT has broken ground on the I-35 Capital Express Central Project, which will expand 28 miles of the highway from 12 to as many as 22 lanes," the report said.
CNU referenced two alternatives to Austin's highway expansion – Reconnect Austin and Rethink35 – which have both earned popularity among locals that want to see the city re-envision its highway infrastructure.
"Reconnect Austin was founded in 2012 and was the first organization to boldly reimagine I-35 through central Austin, helping the public to understand that a surface-level interstate highway in the heart of the city is not an inevitability and how such valuable land could be better used for other purposes," CNU said.Photo courtesy of Congress for the New Urbanism
"Reconnect Austin proposes sinking and covering I-35 with a boulevard while Rethink35 advocates for rerouting I-35 around town and replacing the current highway with a boulevard," the report said. "However, TxDOT refused to thoroughly study either proposal."
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted the City of Austin more than $105 million to cap portions of I-35 downtown between Cesar Chavez and Fourth streets. The city also approved a measure to take out a $41 million loan for partial funding of the project. However, due to the federal government's recent grant cancellations – which have affected many local sectors – the funds may not materialize. City Council is once again facing split opinions on how to move forward.
Other freeways mentioned in the report include:
- NY State Routes 33 and 198 in Buffalo, New York
- Interstate I-980 in Oakland, California
- Interstate 45 Expansion in Houston, Texas
- Interstate 175 in Saint Petersburg, Florida
- IL 137/Amstutz Expressway/Bobby Thompson Expressway in Waukegan and North Chicago, Illinois
- DuSable Lake Shore Drive (US 41) in Chicago, Illinois
- US-101 in San Mateo County, California
- US-35 in Dayton, Ohio
