Austin would commit $1 million for a bus lane through the rebuilt Dean Keeton crossing at I-35

Buses crossing I-35 at Dean Keeton Street could get a lane of their own when the highway is rebuilt, if the City Council agrees to pay for it. Item 22 on the Nov. 5 draft agenda is a resolution committing up to $1 million for a dedicated, center-running transit lane through the rebuilt Dean Keeton intersection.

Dean Keeton is a main east-west route between the University of Texas campus and East Austin. It sits on the line between District 1 and District 9. TxDOT's I-35 Capital Express Central project will rebuild the crossings at Manor Road, Dean Keeton, 32nd Street, 38th 1/2 Street and Wilshire Boulevard, according to a TxDOT fact sheet.

What the city would commit to

According to the staff recommendation for action:

• The lane would run down the middle of the rebuilt, street-level intersection of Dean Keeton and the I-35 frontage roads. It is meant to let transit move through the intersection and to support the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan.
• TxDOT asked for a formal funding commitment before it updates the design and adds the lane to its next construction bid package.
• The $1 million would come from the Transportation and Public Works capital budget. Any cost above $1 million would need another council vote.
• No money goes to TxDOT now. Staff would come back later with an advance funding agreement closer to when the money is needed.

A map of the location is attached to the item.

What our records add

Smaller than the city's earlier I-35 commitments. The Dean Keeton lane is a small piece of the city's I-35 spending. In May 2025 the council voted 8-2 to commit up to $265 million for "cap and stitch" roadway elements to be built into the I-35 project. Council members Krista Laine and Marc Duchen voted no, and Mike Siegel did not vote. The same day it voted 10-1, with Duchen voting no, to add $244 million to the transportation capital budget for the program. A separate $20 million design agreement for cap decks was postponed indefinitely.

TxDOT's schedule changed. At the Mobility Committee in December 2025, city transportation officer Michelle Marks said TxDOT had split Capital Express into two bid packages after feedback from contractors that the project was too large. She said the advanced package would go to bid in 2027, and the "ultimate" package, which holds the city-funded cap and stitch elements and other betterments, in 2029. The staff memo for the Dean Keeton lane does not say which package it would go into.

Moving pipes for the highway. The council has also approved a long list of eminent domain and funding items so Austin Water can move lines out of TxDOT's way. That includes eminent domain for the I-35 Central water and wastewater relocation in October 2025 and an advance funding agreement with TxDOT for water and wastewater work in May 2026. Both passed without a no vote.

What's next

The resolution is on the Nov. 5 consent agenda, so it could pass without discussion unless a council member pulls it. If it passes, TxDOT can fold the lane into its design. The city would then return to the council with a funding agreement before paying. District 1 elects a new council member on Nov. 3. Our District 1 story covers that race.