Austin highway revamp to cover lowered sections of roadway

An 8-mile-long stretch of I-35 through downtown Austin, Texas, may  include covering lowered sections of the highway with parks, buildings, and pedestrian spaces. The Texas Department of Transportation presented its plan for so-called “cap and stitch” to the Austin city council.

According to a Fox7 newscast, the $4.5 billion infrastructure project would include 14 caps and stitches paid for by the city and one paid for by the University of Texas. The city plans to use federal grant money for the project.

A cap is a large deck over the highway, and a stitch is a widened bridge. Both provide extra space that is not required for vehicular traffic.