TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is expanding a concrete barrier to protect pedestrians along Interstate 35 in Travis County.
“After installing the initial pedestrian barrier in 2020, the Austin District saw an 89% reduction in pedestrian fatalities within the project limits,” said TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson. “By expanding on our previous efforts, we want to continue building towards our goal of ending all deaths on Texas roads by 2050.”
This expansion will add 21 miles along I-35 in multiple locations, including Greenlawn Boulevard to Rundberg Lane, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Lady Bird Lake and Riverside Drive to SH 45 Southeast.
According to TxDOT, the barrier can be removed if there is a crash and it will also help reduce headlight glare. It will cost $3.5 million, with construction slated to be complete by early 2023.
This is part of TxDOT's #EndtheStreak campaign, which started on Nov. 7, 2000. That was the last time there was a deathless day on Texas roads. The campaign asks people who get behind a wheel to drive safely as a way to end the streak of daily deaths on Texas roads.