I-35 Capital Express South Project Plan – SH 71/Ben White Boulevard Interchange – Audio Transcript

Now that we’ve walked through the different elements of the project, let’s begin at the north end and move south.

Currently, we are at the northern most limits of the project, the interchange of I-35 and SH 71/Ben White Boulevard. Vehicles headed south would be able to enter the managed lanes in two locations, the first is from the mainlanes, the other is from eastbound and westbound SH 71/Ben White Boulevard to southbound I-35 flyover.

Green arrows show the managed lane entrance and exits throughout the project.

Drivers wishing to enter the managed lanes from SH 71/Ben White Boulevard would use the existing flyover and take a new access ramp that crosses over the mainlanes directly into the managed lanes. This is shown in dark green.

To ensure all lanes operate at their best, the managed lanes would be elevated from SH 71/Ben White Boulevard to Slaughter Lane. This elevation reduces conflict points where crashes are more likely to occur and minimizes the need for right of way. Conflict points are areas where vehicles have to merge, diverge or cross, such as entrances, exits and weaving areas. The height in this area would vary from 20 to 40 feet above the existing mainlanes. To think about it another way, the managed lanes would be no less than the height of a two-story house and no taller than a four-story building.

This area is also where the northbound managed lanes would end, but other I-35 projects propose to extend the managed lanes farther north in the future. Learn more at My35CapEx.com.

Along southbound I-35, the Stassney Lane entrance ramp would be moved further south along the corridor while the northbound Ben White Boulevard/Woodward Street exit (230) would stay in its existing location.

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