Tuesday, January 6

Wurzbach Parkway progress

The story of Wurzbach Parkway is summed up in two words: bridge decks. Two more words (if you want a longer story): ramp improvements.

Tonight Williams Brothers will close the southbound main lanes of U.S. Hwy 281 between Bitters Road and Nakoma Drive at 9 p.m. to allow bridge crews to pour concrete on the Wurzbach Parkway overpass bridge. The northbound main lanes will close in the same area around 10 p.m. All lanes will reopen once the concrete dries, which will be well in time for tomorrow's morning commute.

While the closure is in place, traffic will exit (on the southbound side) Bitters Road and re-enter the highway after going through Nakoma Drive. On the northbound side, traffic will exit Bitters Road and re-enter before reaching Bitters.

This is the last major pour over the main lanes of U.S. 281 to form the Wurzbach overpass. We still need to pour concrete for some of the overpass spanning over the frontage roads, but this will be the final major closure of the main lanes on U.S. 281 for the Wurzbach overpass. Closures to facilitate the construction of turnarounds at Nakoma should come at the end of this month or early February.

Later this week we'll have one of the subcontractors start working on some drain features near Heimer Drive along the northbound frontage road. This work may require the temporary closure of Heimer Drive at the frontage road, pushing traffic from Heimer onto Maltsberger Lane or onto Bitters Road.

Saturday we'll have the right lanes of southbound U.S. 281 closed (along with the southbound entrance from Bitters Road) to do some asphalt work and open the new - permanent - southbound entrance ramp from Bitters Road. With that entrance ramp open, Williams Brothers will begin working on the new southbound exit for Wurzbach and for Nakoma.

The work on the southbound ramps highlights other upcoming work to adjust ramps along U.S. 281 between Nakoma and Bitters. The ramps on the northbound side should be ready and built somewhere around spring break. The overall project is on schedule for completion the middle of this year.