Let's get one thing out of the way first: this is not the final configuration for traffic traveling from southbound I-410 to Hwy 151. The new direct connector to westbound Hwy 151 is not yet opening.
All that said, those who exit southbound I-410 to reach Hwy 151 as part of their daily commutes are about to see a significant change to their routes next week with the completion of what's being called by project staff the "Military Drive Bypass".
What's a bypass and why is it being built?
The bridge that's opening to make this traffic shift possible is a permanent intersection bypass guiding a single lane of frontage road traffic over Military Drive, skipping the traffic signal completely.
We have a few other bypasses - though with much larger capacity - along I-410 on the north side of down, most notably at San Pedro.
The reason for this bypass is access to the Westover Marketplace commercial center. When the new direct connector is built the old ramp, which also serves traffic headed to the shops at Westover, will no longer be in service.
Actually, that old ramp will go much sooner.
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| A look at the bypass that'll be in play midweek next week. |
Current ramp is closing The current ramp serving traffic to Hwy 151 (and the marketplace) will permanently close the night of Wednesday, August 9. That means Thursday's commute will be a bit different - so pay attention!
With the old ramp closed Williams Brothers Construction will be working hard to finish the tie-in to the new direct connector while also looking to improve the capacity of the frontage road as fast as they can.
New ramp is opening
The new ramp for those headed to Hwy 151 will be the ramp folks are currently using for Military Drive. That lane will be guided up and over Military Drive and then follow the same route traffic runs today.
In the near future the new Military Drive exit ramp will open (north of Leon Creek) and we'll change things a bit again.
Planned closures
Before we get to where all this new stuff is in place we'll have a series of overnight closures the first half of next week. The main lanes won't be impacted too much, but expect to see more major closures on the frontage road Tuesday night as traffic is switched.
For those looking to reach Hwy 151 overnight, try exiting Marbach and turning around to reach your destination. It will be slow going, but you should be able to get through just fine.
Overall completion
The big question is pretty clear - and the answer is pretty simple. Overall completion for this project is coming fall 2018.