Tuesday afternoon traffic along I-35 in north Austin went from busy to barely crawling after a chemical spill forced police to shut down a key stretch of the southbound frontage road.
Austin police said the spill prompted the closure of the southbound I-35 frontage road between Wells Branch Parkway and Howard Lane, snarling traffic as officers headed to the 14200 block of the I-35 southbound service road and shut down the affected section while crews responded.
APD Response
According to the Austin Police Department, officers were called to a “traffic hazard and chemical spill,” and confirmed the closure of “Frontage Rd @ Wells Branch Pkwy to Howard Ln.” Police have not yet released details on what kind of chemical was involved or whether anyone was injured, and are asking drivers to steer clear of the area while crews investigate and work the scene.
Construction Adds Complication
All of this is unfolding in the middle of TxDOT’s I-35 Capital Express North project, which has already reshaped ramps and lane patterns around Wells Branch and Howard Lane. That ongoing work has increased the odds that any incident on the frontage road will spill over into nearby ramps and trigger bigger backups. According to TxDOT, the project includes reconstruction of frontage roads and ramps in the Wells Branch area, bringing periodic lane shifts and active construction zones into the mix.
How to Navigate the Area
Drivers should expect delays on the service road and nearby ramps and consider alternate routes until the spill response wraps up and lanes reopen. The City of Austin maintains a live traffic-incident feed for I-35 frontage-road hazards that can be checked for updates, and APD is posting real-time notices on its social channels as the situation develops.
