Construction Project Brings Changes to I-35 in Waco - Ramp and Lane Closures Begin as Construction Starts

Contact: I35@baylor.edu
For updated information about the project and to sign up for email and text alerts about construction and travel delays, visit TxDOT’s project website at www.My35.org/Waco. Follow TxDOT’s Twitter account, @TxDOTWacoPIO, for real-time travel information on I-35 through Central Texas..

WACO, Texas (April 24, 2019) - The first phase of the major, multi-year reconstruction project of a 6-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from North 340 Loop to 12th Street is set to begin this weekend and will impact traffic around the University immediately and for the duration of the project.

Please read the important information below from TxDOT about upcoming changes to mainlanes, frontage roads, and bridges, interchanges and entrance/exit ramps. Please consider additional travel time to campus if you are taking I-35 or plan to take alternate routes to campus. Road signs have been placed to alert drivers, and TxDOT asks the traveling public to be patient and remain aware when traveling through the work zone.

Mainlanes

• Overnight northbound lane and shoulder closure to rehabilitate and widen shoulder and overlay pavement in preparation for mainlane work.

Frontage Roads

• Southbound - various lane closures from North Loop 340 to 12th Street.
• Northbound - various lane closures beginning near Dutton Avenue and Behrens Circle.

Bridges, Interchanges and Ramps

• Southbound Exit 335A for 4th/5th Streets permanently removed – use Exit 335B for University Parks Drive.
• Northbound I-35 entrance ramp near McLane Stadium will be closed – access I-35 at the next entrance ramp just north of MLK Jr. Boulevard.

Beginning Mid-May

• Pedestrian bridge at 8th Street permanently removed – use pedestrian connections at 4th and 5th Streets.

Beginning in May

• BUS 77 direct ramp access from I-35 permanently removed – use ground-level intersection.

Since summer of 2018, Baylor representatives have been serving as part of a larger I-35 Waco Communications Steering Committee, which includes stakeholders from across the community who will be most affected by the construction. The committee’s purpose is to guide communications and outreach strategy and help distribute information on the project to faculty, staff, students, alumni and visitors during the I-35 project.

The subcommittee has provided TxDOT with projected major event dates over the next four years, including football games, commencement, Premiere events for prospective students, move-in days and the first day of classes. The subcommittee also established a dedicated website at www.baylor.edu/I35 that will serve as a go-to site for important construction information pertinent to the campus community.

The University understands that this project will create some traveling headaches around campus, but we also know that the project, when completed, will have significant long-term benefits for the Greater Waco community.