Semi Crash Shut Down I-35 Northbound in Downtown Austin Early Monday; Two Lanes Later Reopened

Monday's commute started with the city's main artery closed. Just after 3 a.m., a semi-truck hit the center concrete median on Interstate 35 in downtown Austin and flipped on its side, according to Austin police as reported by KXAN. Northbound I-35 was shut down between East 7th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and KVUE reported all northbound lanes near MLK Boulevard closed in the early hours, with CBS Austin reporting the northbound lower deck near 15th Street closed, citing the Texas Department of Transportation and Austin police.

No one sustained significant injuries in the crash, KXAN reported - a notable outcome for an overturned semi on the lower deck in the middle of the night. Crews worked the scene through the morning to clear the truck and reopen the roadway, and a later update reported two lanes of northbound I-35 had reopened.

The closure landed on the one morning Austin could least spare it: the day before Election Day, with campaign traffic, election workers and early commuters all moving before dawn. By the evening drive the corridor's standing problem is a different one - the nightly SH 71 flyover closures to southbound I-35 that this station reported Monday afternoon, running 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Thursday for bridge column work.

For drivers, the verified picture at the last read this cycle is a partially reopened northbound I-35 through downtown and a full set of overnight detours still ahead at SH 71. Anyone crossing the river tonight should use the frontage-road detours posted for the flyover work and expect the lower deck to stay slow while the morning's scene finishes clearing.