The Texas Transportation Commission, the governing body which decides what Texas highways get state funding, voted Thursday to allocate $3.4 billion to Interstate 35, paving the way for a complete reconstruction of the highway in Austin.
The commission voted 3-1 to allocate the money from its discretionary fund to I-35 in Austin as part of an update to a Texas Department of Transportation long-term plan for building Texas highways.
The addition of the $3.4 billion now provides nearly full funding to reconstruct I-35 from the Texas 45 North toll road near the border of Austin and Round Rock to Texas 45 Southwest in far South Austin. Last week, the Capital Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to spend $633 million on the project.
The $3.4 billion is a part of a proposed $7.5 billion project that could possibly include multiple levels of tunnels through parts of Central Austin, rebuilding the highway below ground level and the demolition of the two-deck system that has come to characterize the highway in Austin.
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