Saturday night, TxDOT will be closing both northbound lanes of I-35 and Exit 301 in Temple as crews demolish old elevated lanes, begin construction on new lanes, and continue work on the new Central Avenue/Adams bridge.

TxDOT's Jodi Wheatley issued a media release Monday evening, which you may read below. In it, she said the closure will begin at 9 PM on Saturday, November 11, and is scheduled to end at Noon Sunday.

If you can avoid I-35 through Temple on any day, you absolutely should. We recommend using Loop 363 to go around town, or using 317 west of town.


 

Below is a media release issued by TxDOT representative Jodi Wheatley on the evening of Monday, November 6.

Temple – Northbound Exit Ramp Closure for Central Ave./Adams Ave.

Starting November 11, at 9 pm, the existing I-35 northbound exit ramp to Central Ave./Adams Ave./Downtown Temple (Exit #301) will close for reconstruction, as part of the ongoing rebuilding and expansion of I-35 through Temple. (NOTE: Access from the temporary northbound frontage road to Central Ave. will be maintained throughout the construction, in exactly the same location it is now.)

To access Central Ave./Adams Ave./Downtown, traffic will be directed by signs to take Exit #300/Ave. H/57th. Traffic will remain on the northbound frontage road over the BNSF tracks, to Central Ave. The northbound frontage road from Exit #300 will be signed for continuous flow (frontage road traffic will have priority at the intersections - all stop signs at intersections along the road will require cross-traffic to yield to the frontage road traffic).

Central Ave./Adams Ave./Downtown can also be accessed by taking Exit #302/Nugent Ave., and turning right onto Nugent Ave. (Nugent Ave. curves to the right just east of the highway, becoming 31st St. At 31st and Central Ave., drivers may turn left as traffic signals permit, and continue on to downtown Temple from there.)

This closure will allow the contractor to demolish the existing elevated northbound mainlanes, complete all lanes of the new northbound frontage road, build the new northbound mainlanes, and construct the new, upgraded Central Ave./Adams Ave./Downtown exit ramp (about 700 feet south of the current location). The old ramp must be removed at this time to provide access to northbound I-35 and allow the contractor to build the new frontage road. TxDOT and contractor engineers expect the completion of the new ramp and access road to take approximately twelve months.

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