A serious injury collision shut down Interstate 35 at Woodward Street near Ben White Boulevard on Wednesday morning, prompting Travis County STAR Flight to respond and leaving drivers stuck with significant delays in both directions. The crash struck during the morning commute along a stretch of highway already squeezed by ongoing construction, turning a routine drive into a gridlocked mess for commuters heading through South Austin.
posted a traffic alert saying the area around I-35 at Woodward and Ben White was shut down due to the serious injury collision, with STAR Flight on scene and updates to follow. According to
KVUE
, police confirmed the crash just after 8 a.m., and STAR Flight was at the scene to transport impacted patients.
The closures were extensive. As reported by MySA, the crash shut down the southbound I-35 service road to East Ben White Boulevard, the entire northbound I-35 service road intersection at West Ben White Boulevard, and the turnarounds connecting southbound to northbound service roads. The exact cause of the crash and the number of vehicles involved remain unknown. Two children were transported in critical condition, and one adult was transported with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.
Air Ambulance Follows Strict Dispatch Rules
STAR Flight's involvement reflected its medical, rescue and firefighting missions. A helicopter, rather than just ground units, responded to the highway crash inside Austin city limits.
The fleet doing that work has been under scrutiny. Hoodline previously reported on STAR Flight's $60M fleet overhaul, detailing a proposal from January 2026 to replace and modernize the county's helicopters over two years to address rising maintenance costs and spare-part delays.
A Highway Already Under Construction Pressure
Wednesday's crash unfolded on a stretch of highway amid construction-related disruption. Just one day earlier, TxDOT announced scheduled nightly closures starting September 8 for flyover ramps connecting SH 71/Ben White Boulevard to southbound I-35, work tied to bridge column construction, according to MySA.
The scheduled closures are tied to TxDOT's I-35 Capital Express South Project.
One of Texas's Most Congested — and Deadly — Stretches
This isn't the first time this exact interchange has turned deadly. On September 13, 2024, a fatal crash on Ben White Boulevard near I-35 and Woodward Street forced police to shut down all eastbound lanes and surrounding ramps, according to KVUE.
The corridor's traffic volume only compounds the risk. Texas A&M Transportation Institute data ranked the 8-mile section of I-35 between US 290 West/Ben White Boulevard and US 290 East as the 4th most congested roadway in Texas, generating more than $203 million in annual congestion costs, KVUE reported in December 2023.
Speed and Jurisdiction Remain Central Issues
City of Austin transportation safety assessments show that 65% to 75% of all traffic fatalities in Austin occur on state-owned roadways like I-35, US 183, and Loop 360 — corridors where TxDOT is involved in I-35 projects and Austin police are involved in crash response, as Hoodline reported on Austin’s roadway toll earlier this month.
The available reports do not establish whether speed played any role in Wednesday's crash near Ben White.
Drivers in the area should expect significant delays, according to the Austin Police Department's alert. The story will be updated as more information becomes available.
