Leaders in both San Antonio and Austin are proposing plans to turn I-35 into a double-decker highway stretching from San Antonio to Georgetown. This stretch of interstate is the fastest-growing freight corridor in the country. Just 75 miles separate the cities, but the drive is punctuated by traffic jams and delays.
“It's more like parking on it than it is driving on it," Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff said, adding that the congestion is a roadblock to economic development. “At the end of the day, if you don't have the basic infrastructure in place, no company is going to move here.”
The upper level of the proposed corridor would likely have four toll lanes, and overall the proposed changes would be similar to what already exists in downtown San Antonio, where I-35 is split between upper and lower levels.
Other ambitious ideas include a high-speed rail line on the upper deck portion and increased speed limits. Cost, however, has yet to be determined; early estimates put it at several billion dollars.
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