TxDOT breaks ground on Parmer Lane interchange improvements
A new project designed to ease traffic tension on interstate 35 is underway.
"As bad as the highway congestion is now, it's only going to continue to get worse if we don't address it," said Texas Department of Transportation District Engineer Tucker Ferguson.
On Wednesday, TxDOT broke ground on a nearly $25 million project to create a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) on I-35 at Parmer Lane and Parmer Lane at Lamar Boulevard.
A diverging diamond interchange does not work on every highway exit, but TxDOT said this will improve this particular location.
"It puts traffic on the left side for left turning movements," said TxDOT Spokesperson Diann Hodges. "Meaning they don't have to cross traffic that is oncoming. so it's actually safer as well. "
This will be the 3rd diverging diamond interchange in the Austin area.
Much like the one located off of RM 1431 at I-35 in Round Rock, commuters tell CBS Austin they hope this interchange will also improve drive times.
"We'll decrease your delays by 82 percent with the project we're announcing today," said J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. "That's huge. Then we're going to decrease the delays coming back home by 81 percent."
"In addition to the DDI, we're actually also adding a southbound bypass lane," said Hodges. This will allow traffic that is traveling southbound along the frontage road that does not want to stop on Parmer Lane to bypass that light."
The project is funded by the Texas Clear Lanes Project. Additional measures in the project are improving bike and pedestrian transportation access around the interchange.
"I'm all for alternative means of transportation," said Sherief Khaki, a commuter on I-35 "Whether its biking, pedestrian...anything to get less people just driving themselves."
The project is expected to be completed by mid 2021.
