Quote:
Originally Posted by Tech House
Yup. Even after all the freaking out in Boston about the Big Dig, everyone ended up being happy with the result, and the same can be said for several similar projects in other cities. Seattle will be happy with the final result of their waterfront freeway takedown, if they can ever actually finish it.
Taking 35 below grade and reconnecting that part of the city would be such an incredible win for the city's future, it'd be worth the massive migraine it would create during construction. The process of doing it could be one of the biggest clusterfucks in American infrastructure history, and I'd still say it'd be worth it. But I've got no skin in the game, nothing to lose, so it's easy for me to armchair QB this proposal.
By the way, given that Seattle's been able to leave their elevated freeway open while digging the tunnel, does anyone know if the same could be possible for most of the tunneling in Austin? Obviously there'd have to be at least a year of 35 being closed, but maybe they can do the other year or five years without disrupting traffic?
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They're not actually digging exactly under the existing freeway's piers/posts. The tunnel will also be just 4 lanes (2 in each direction) vs the 6 lanes they have now (3 in each direction), so they are also losing capacity. It also doesn't carry that much truck traffic, which is directed to I-5 instead. Austin wants to add lanes to I-35, it also carries trucks. So comparing the two highways is slightly unfair, with different goals in mind.
And while the I-93 freeway through Boston, the Big Dig, is considered a success, it was more than just a single freeway. It included a new bridge and two tunnels towards the airport, beside lowering I-93 and capping it. It was so over-budget, the State of Massachusetts hasn't expanded anything else since. I haven't the slightest idea when they will be able to do anything else that's involves large sums of money.
Any construction, even patching potholes, is going to disrupt traffic. Lowering I-35 20 to 25 feet and capping it is going to create gridlock on I-35 for years. If TXDOT is going to do so, we might as well decide right now what to put on the cap. With right hand exits to the services roads on either side, there's going to be a fairly large median 60 to 80 feet wide. Surely Austin can find something better than just grass, shrubs, and trees.