Rethink35 drops I-35 lawsuit, eyes new legal action against downtown segment

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A community grassroots group in opposition to the Texas Department of Transportation's Interstate 35 expansion project dropped its lawsuit this week — but is eyeing possible legal action against the project's downtown segment.

Last June, Rethink35 joined the Texas Public Interest Research Group and Environment Texas in a lawsuit filing against TxDOT, mainly targeting the north and south portions of the three-segmented project. In the lawsuit, the three organizations alleged TxDOT "violated the law" by splitting up the I-35 Capital Express Projects into three sections in an effort to avoid a "more rigorous environmental review and public engagement of a single larger project."

On Thursday, Rethink35's board president Adam Greenfield told KXAN the group still stands behind the lawsuit's claims, but the organization is working toward possible legal action against the I-35 Capital Express Central project.

"We think there are really promising legal avenues ahead, including the I-35 CapEx Central portion," he said. "We don't have the capacity to fight multiple lawsuits at once. So we just had to make the difficult decision to choose one."

The I-35 Capital Express Central project encapsulates an eight-mile stretch running from U.S. Hwy. 290 West and SH 71 North through downtown to U.S. Hwy. 290 East. It's a project that, under the proposed design, would display more than 100 properties located along the project corridor.

It is a proposal that has drawn concern from both members of the public and elected officials, with both Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioners Court issuing requests for changes to be considered in the project's design and execution. However, TxDOT officials have previously told KXAN they see the project as vital in addressing growing congestion concerns along the corridor.

“The last time we had any significant expansion on this section of I-35 was in the mid-1970s,” Tucker Ferguson, TxDOT's Austin district engineer, told KXAN in January. “So we have not kept up with the pace of population growth and traffic growth numbers.”

In a statement Thursday, a TxDOT spokesperson told KXAN all three portions of the I-35 Capital Express project were the result of "thorough environmental studies and extensive public input."

"TxDOT looks forward to bringing safety and mobility improvements to the corridor through these critical projects," the spokesperson continued. "Construction continues uninterrupted on the North and South projects, and we expect to have a final environmental decision on the I-35 Capital Express Central project by late summer."

However, Greenfield challenged TxDOT's expansion model, pointing toward city investments in public transportation buildouts as the right approach.

"The times are changing," he said.

While a firm decision has not been made yet, Greenfield said Rethink35 is in talks with several other prominent groups who are interested in possible legal action against the downtown portion. A future lawsuit could be filed in the next few months, he said.

"Everyone has a role in this," he said. "This is not just a spectator sport. Everyone has a valuable role to play."