TxDOT puts $408.6 million I-35 reconstruction in central Austin on its Nov. 3 letting

The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled a $408.6 million reconstruction of Interstate 35 in central Austin for bids at its November statewide letting. The figure is the sealed engineer's estimate that TxDOT reports for contract 11263001 in its open project data. That makes it by far the largest of the 61 contracts on the November 3–4 letting.

According to TxDOT's project records, the contract runs along I-35 in Travis County from US 290 East to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The work description calls for reconstructing the I-35 main lanes at Manor Road and 32nd Street. It also covers the frontage road from Concordia Avenue to 40th Street and partial reconstruction of the northbound frontage road from Manor Road. TxDOT classifies the controlling project as "Widen Freeway."

Six projects under one contract

TxDOT's data groups six project records under contract 11263001. Their individual estimates add up to the $408.6 million total:

• I-35 main lanes and bridges (CSJ 0015-13-432), about $240.4 million. The description lists rebuilding the main lanes at Manor Road and 32nd Street, the frontage roads from Concordia Avenue to 40th Street, partial rebuilds of the northbound frontage road from Manor to 51st Street and the southbound frontage road from Concordia to 51st, new bridges at Manor, 32nd and 38½ streets, drainage, a shared-use path, intersections, and a bypass lane at 51st Street and the ramps.
• I-35 reconstruction, US 290 East to 51st Street (CSJ 0015-13-441), about $94.6 million. The record covers adding one northbound and one southbound non-tolled managed lane, bypass lanes, structures, drainage, shared-use paths, and rebuilt intersections, ramps, general-purpose lanes and frontage roads.
• Southbound upper-deck bridge structural retrofit (CSJ 0015-13-448), about $53.4 million, from Airport Boulevard to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The data classifies this record as "Right of Way" even though the description is structural work.
• A second "Right of Way" record (CSJ 0015-13-444), about $15.9 million, whose description repeats the managed-lane, frontage-lane, ramp and auxiliary-lane scope from US 290 East to 51st Street.
• Sidewalks and curb ramps on US 290 from I-35 to US 183 (about $3.8 million) and on State Spur 69 from the CapMetro railroad to I-35 (about $447,000).

Bids are due at 1:00 p.m. Nov. 3. The data sets a maximum of 1,495 working days, roughly six years of working time, and a proposal guaranty of $100,000. The contract's project type is listed as "Joint Bid Utility," which means utility work is bid with the highway work.

What bidders need

To bid a contract this size at a TxDOT statewide letting, a prime must be prequalified through TxDOT's confidential questionnaire process, which sets a bidding capacity based on audited financial statements. TxDOT's November letting is held over two days, Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, and the department streams each letting live. Bids are submitted electronically.

For subcontractors and suppliers, a contract with several large components usually means many sub packages: paving, drainage, bridge work, sidewalks and ramps, traffic control, signals and landscaping. Firms that want to quote should watch TxDOT's plan-holder list for the contract to see which primes are pricing it.

Where it sits in the November letting

The I-35 contract makes up nearly half of the roughly $881 million in sealed engineer's estimates across all 61 November contracts. The Austin District has seven contracts on the letting, tied with Waco for the most of any district. Our bids page lists every contract by county, and our Travis County hub tracks the contractors based there.

Estimates are TxDOT's own and are not bids. Award amounts often differ, and TxDOT can reject all bids or postpone a contract. We will report the apparent low bidder once TxDOT posts its bid tabulations.

Federal and environmental status

Three of the six records carry federal project number F 2026(789): the $240.4 million main-lane record and the two sidewalk records. The two I-35 freeway records list an environmental impact statement (EIS) as their clearance type, the most detailed level of federal environmental review. The sidewalk records list a categorical exclusion. TxDOT's data names the Austin District as the administering office and lists state oversight for every record.

What to watch before bid day

• Addenda. On a contract with six records and a joint utility component, quantities and special provisions often change before the letting. Primes and subs should check TxDOT's letting pages for revisions up to bid day.
• Plan holders. The plan-holder list is the best early signal of which primes and joint ventures are pricing the job.
• Phasing. The scope includes bridge replacements at three cross streets and a structural retrofit of the southbound upper deck. Both will drive traffic-control phasing and night work, which affects crew and equipment planning for subs.