Here in Austin, I-35 is a huge barrier that cleaves through downtown. Along its edges, vibrant, dense, walkable neighborhoods suddenly collapse into gas stations and strip malls accessible only by car. The sporadic caps would be aesthetically nicer than the highway itself, but they are likely to serve as a visual cue to the vast, barren wasteland in the heart of our city. At this point, since groups like Reconnect Austin, Rethink35, and others have visualized what the possibilities of a more imaginative project could be, one has to think that is not a failure of imagination on TxDOT's part but a lack of will, interest, or perhaps governing principle.
Here in Austin, I-35 is a huge barrier that cleaves through downtown. Along its edges, vibrant, dense, walkable neighborhoods suddenly collapse into gas stations and strip malls accessible only by car. The sporadic caps would be aesthetically nicer than the highway itself, but they are likely to serve as a visual cue to the vast, barren wasteland in the heart of our city. At this point, since groups like Reconnect Austin, Rethink35, and others have visualized what the possibilities of a more imaginative project could be, one has to think that is not a failure of imagination on TxDOT's part but a lack of will, interest, or perhaps governing principle.