The story behind that canceled highway project near downtown Austin

I live off I-35 and noticed construction suddenly stopped last month with no real explanation in the news. Turned out a geologist spotted a fault line running underneath the planned bridge piers during a routine soil test, and the whole $200 million design had to be scrapped. Have you ever seen a major project get shut down like that because of something hidden under the ground?

3 comments

3 Comments

fisher.thomas4d ago

Did you ever find out if they're going to reroute the whole thing or just give up on the project entirely? That's a bummer, especially after all that money and work already done.

barbara_jenkins664d ago

Went through something similar with a park renovation in my area years back. They had these great plans for a new playground and walking trail, got all the funding approved and everything. Then someone found an old cistern nobody knew about right where the main path was supposed to go. The whole thing stalled for almost a year while they argued about what to do. Eventually they just moved the playground to the other side of the park and made the trail loop around the spot instead. Cost them extra but at least they finished it. Sometimes you just have to accept a smaller win than what you originally wanted.

tessaperry4d ago

Ugh I know the feeling. Had a similar thing happen with our neighborhood walking path. They spent months and tons of money on surveys and prep work. Then hit some unexpected drainage problem. What worked for us was getting a few of the really vocal neighbors together and going straight to the town council meetings. We showed up with photos and a simple petition. They ended up doing a partial reroute. Still not perfect but way better than nothing. Sometimes you just gotta make noise in person not just online.