Austin City Council approved a reduced plan Thursday to construct parks over I-35, a plan made possible by a state project to widen and lower the freeway.
Council members voted to pay for support columns that would allow for decks to be installed over I-35 from Cesar Chavez to Seventh streets and 11th to 12th streets. Columns would also be installed for two smaller, 300-foot-long stitches from 41st Street to the Red Line or something equivalent.
The City Council was fiercely split over the price tag for the project. Some members fretted about other priorities — everything from affordable housing to street upgrades and flood resilience…