Austin could seek $124M federal grant to add highway coverings on top of I-35

On Thursday, Austin City Council could authorize city leaders to submit a federal grant application for up to $124 million for work on the city's upcoming Our Future 35 "Cap and Stitch" program.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, Austin City Council could authorize city leaders to submit a federal grant application for up to $124 million for work on the city's upcoming Our Future 35
"Cap and Stitch" program.

The Our Future 35 program is working to develop deck plazas on top of Interstate 35, amid the Texas Department of Transportation's planned expansion of the highway. Those deck plazas could support community resources like parkland and green space, public art, small buildings and other amenities.

Included in the federal government's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) program. That program offers funding for highway, bridge and related transportation infrastructure projects "with significant national or regional impact," per city documents.

City leaders are eyeing a request up to $124 million to support Our Future 35's cap and stitch structures at Holly Street, Fourth to Seventh streets and 11th to 12th streets. Should Austin be named a funding recipient for the full $124 million, the city would be required to provide a local match of $82.6 million.

If the city is awarded a lesser grant amount, city leaders would be responsible for a 40% local match.

The application comes more than a month after the city received $105.2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Neighborhood Access and Equity program to support cap and stitch efforts. That funding allocation will go toward the construction of a cap and related amenities covering Cesar Chavez to Fourth streets.

Also in March, Austin City Council approved submitting a loan application request with the State Infrastructure Bank to help fund the program, with a loan amount capped at $191 million.

Earlier this year, city leadership said the total costs of capping the highway ranges between $600 million and $800 million.

In an April 22 letter sent by Assistant City Manager Robert Goode to Austin City Council and Mayor Kirk Watson, Goode said an approved MPDG application paired with the $105.2 million federal grant and $191 million state loan "will fund a majority of the construction funding secured for all caps and stitches between Holly and 11th/12th."

Should council approve the application Thursday, Goode said in his memo staff will submit the grant application on May 3, prior to its May 6 deadline.