Bexar County's Second HOV Lane Now Open

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and VIA Metropolitan Transit announced today that the region’s second high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane is open and will offer drivers with passengers a designated lane to bypass regular traffic. The Interstate 10 westbound HOV lane is open to traffic from La Cantera Parkway to FM 3351 (Ralph Fair Road).
 
This is the first of three VIA-managed HOV corridors that were built in partnership with TxDOT. The second is expected to open on U.S. Highway 281, from Loop 1604 to north of Stone Oak Parkway, and a third running from north of Stone Oak Parkway to Borgfeld Road in 2023. They are designed to target high-traffic corridors with an alternative lane for multi-passenger and emergency vehicles.
 
“We are excited to open the second HOV Lane in Bexar County and bring much needed congestion relief to one of the busiest corridors in the state,” TxDOT San Antonio District Engineer Mario Jorge. “The opening of HOV lanes is a culmination of several years of community engagement, planning and construction and just one of many projects we are delivering to prepare for the future growth of our region.”
 
HOV lanes are exclusively reserved for vehicles carrying two or more passengers, including buses, carpools, vanpools, motorcycles, emergency response and law enforcement vehicles. They are designed to encourage ridesharing, decrease commute times, reduce highway traffic, alleviate congested areas, and reduce air pollution—all goals of VIA’s Keep SA Moving Plan designed to improve public transportation options in the region. 

“Our relationship with TxDOT over the years has been focused on providing enhanced, long-range transit options that help address the transportation needs of a growing population,” VIA President/CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt said. “HOV lanes are the latest outcome of that productive partnership and we look forward to further expansion of the HOV system as we work to keep San Antonio moving.”
 
Additional benefits for HOV lanes include reducing the traffic burden on highways and reducing the number of vehicles on the road to help cut down on the extent of exhaust emissions in our environment.
 
Upon the completion of currently planned HOV corridors, there will be 14 miles of HOV Lanes with one lane each way for a total of 28 lane-miles: I-10 W (5 miles); US 281 N – Phase I (3 miles); and US 281 N – Phase II (6 miles). 

Using the HOV lanes will not require sign-ups, special car tags or fees. Signage will be posted with the “HOV 2+ Only” to help commuters identify the HOV lanes. They will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. HOV lane passenger regulations will be enforced by the San Antonio Police Department. For more details about the Bexar County HOV lanes managed by VIA, including maps highlighting their specific locations, visit VIAinfo.net/HOV.

A look ahead to next weekend

We do not have any major construction closures this coming weekend due to the 4th of July. However, we do have a few major FULL main lane closures next weekend that can impact travelers:

I-35 at FM 1103 in Schertz
Starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 14, I-35 both north and southbound will be closed to demolish the existing FM 1103 bridge structure. Demolition of the bridge is expected to be complete by late Sunday morning with cleanup and restoration to original main lane configuration by 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Detours:
I-35 Northbound

Traffic will exit I-35 northbound main lane traffic to the frontage road at FM 1103. Traffic to remain on frontage road thru FM 1103. The entrance ramp from FM 1103 to I-35 northbound will be open to traffic.

I-35 Southbound 

Traffic will exit I-35 southbound main lanes to the frontage road at FM 1103 and enter I-35 southbound at the entrance ramp past FM 1103. 

The new FM 1103 portion of the bridge will be open to traffic for westbound traffic only once demolition of the old bridge is complete.

Redland Road at US 281
This full closure will be necessary to construct the Redland Road intersection. Work includes installation of drainage structures, removal of some existing utility, new base and asphalt pavement. Also, temporary pavement will be constructed to tie-in to existing travel lanes.
Work is scheduled to take place in two weekends:

• From Saturday, July 14, 2018, at 3 a.m. to Monday, July 16, 2018, at 5 a.m. 
• From Saturday, July 21, 2018, at 3 a.m. to Monday, July 23, 2018, at 5 a.m. 

During the execution of this work, full closures will be required as follows:
Full Closure of eastbound and westbound Redland Road at the approach of US 281 – Public to detour by using Ridgewood Parkway and Sonterra Boulevard.

During this closure, traffic will be detoured to allow workers full access to the roadway to allow them to work quickly and uninterrupted. Complete closure of the roadway can result in increased productivity, reduced construction time, reduced impact to traffic, increased safety for both traveling public & workers, and in some cases a cost saving. Off-duty police will be used to assist with traffic control. Work is weather permitting.
You can receive information on lane closures straight to your e-mail inbox by registering here http://eepurl.com/cXz2kr.

I-10 at Dominion Drive
Crews will close the eastbound main lanes of I-10 between Boerne Stage Road and Camp Bullis Road Saturday, July 14 at 3 a.m. until 5 a.m. Sunday, July 15 to continue work that was previously done this past weekend. The underpass at Dominion Drive and entrance ramps will also be closed. DETOUR for I-10: Eastbound main lane traffic will exit at Dominion Drive and enter highway at Camp Bullis Road. DETOUR for Dominion Drive: Westbound traffic will detour at Boerne Stage Road and eastbound traffic will detour at Camp Bullis Road.

I-10/Dominion Drive closure this weekend

Even though summer officially started a few days ago, someone forgot to tell the weather that. With it being at least 90 degrees every day for the foreseeable future, we can all be thankful for air-conditioning.

Beginning the evening of June 29th and finishing up the morning of July 2nd, the mainlanes of I-10 at Dominion Dr. along with the eastbound and westbound traffic of Dominion Dr. will be closed. This is the same process that occurred at Camp Bullis Rd. just a few weeks ago. To get caught up on what has been going on, please read our previous blog. This time we are upping the ante with the weight of the beams. The previous beams placed at Camp Bullis Rd. had a length of 100 ft. and weighed a measly 83,200 lbs. (41.6 tons). The beams that are going up at Dominion Dr. may have a shorter length at 91 ft., but they weigh a whopping 93,000 lbs. (46.5 tons). The difference in weight is a whole extra African elephant!

Of course, with the closures come the detours, but we strive to make them as easy as possible. Westbound traffic of I-10 will exit at Dominion Dr., continue thru the Dominion intersection, and re-enter the westbound mainlanes at the entrance ramp before Boerne Stage Rd. Similarly, eastbound traffic of I-10 will exit at Dominion Dr., continue thru the Dominion intersection, and re-enter the eastbound mainlanes at the entrance ramp before Camp Bullis Rd. Westbound and eastbound traffic on Dominion Dr. will be re-routed. Westbound traffic will turn and proceed on the westbound frontage road and continue to the westbound entrance ramp or the turnaround at Boerne Stage Rd. Eastbound traffic will turn and proceed on the eastbound frontage road and continue to the eastbound entrance ramp or the turnaround at Camp Bullis Rd.

We will again have sufficient uniformed officer presence to safely move and direct traffic through the intersection, along with message boards and signs. We are striving to repeat and improve upon the success we have had during the entire construction process.
If you are ever wondering what’s going on, you can check out the TransGuide cameras. 

Mail Bag: Chrostopher and AJ discover our Mail Bag....

When will you address the absolute nightmare at Fair Oaks Ranch bridge due to the closure of the frontage road? What is the progress of the work being done at Old Fred? You have been radio silent these past two weeks despite numerous calls.
- Michael
Where are the police that have been helping direct traffic on the FOR bridge during rush hour? They have disappeared this week this causing major delays once again. If I can’t get to work, I can’t pay taxes to fund this disaster you call road construction.
- Tina
So ... truth. We have received a number of phone calls and emails about the Fair Oaks Parkway overpass. On our end, we take one or two of those and reach out to project staff to have the issue addressed. We file away those couple of communications - and the dozen or more that follow - and move forward. We work to communicate as much as we are able, but cannot always keep up with the demands of some areas in our 12-county district.
We apologize that means the Fair Oaks community felt we were ignoring them. We assure y'all that was absolutely not the case. Our communications team simply has a larger swath of area to focus on - 12 counties! - with similar communication demands and we work hard to try keeping everyone we can in the loop on their projects.
All that said, a good bit of the issues y'all were seeing should have calmed now that Sundt has finished work on the frontage roads requiring the closure that complicated that area. What's more, you're about a month from being finished totally with work at the FOP intersection itself. We hope to have the frontage roads converted to one-way soon, which will open up the capacity of the frontage roads. It'll also mean the new exit ramps will be open, storing the traffic waiting at the FOP intersection onto the frontage road and getting that traffic off the main lanes.

Not a question today, just a compliment. I travel west on 151 every morning (between 0610 and 0710) and since the new flyover to NB 410 opened, it has been much less congested just as your folks planned. Thank you! It has reduced my commute time as well as any stress. I'm sure it will also improve safety in the area. Thanks again!
- Roy

We're as glad as anyone to see a plan work out! We're hoping to see a similar improvement when the direct connectors at I-410 and US 90 are finished in the next 18 months or so. We're getting so close to all that happening!
Also, Roy, thank you for reaching out. Comments like these really mean a lot to our guys in the field (and yes, they do actually read these posts)!

I have a plethora of questions! Now that I found this page I'll probably be emailing you a lot! (Sorry in advance).
151/ Alamo Ranch: I just read on one of your blogs that ARP is owned by the city and not the state, thus y'all (basically) have nothing to do with it. Yet, I have also know that SH 151 is potentially planned to extend to/ through SH 211 AND that ARP is basically built as future SH 151 access roads. So... I don't get it. Is TXDOT planning to in the near (or distant) future acquire/ incorporate ARP into 151?
SH 211: Are y'all at least considering extending SH 211 north to I-10 and south to 35? I think it's phenomenal that there is this active planning to acquire right of way and build this highway AHEAD of the growth, knowing the highway will be desperately needed in the near future. However, it seems like it could never be realized to its full potential/ usefulness without these connections (especially to I-10). Would an extension to I-10 be incorporated into or connect to the future highway planned as part of the "Kendall Gateway Study"?
- Christopher

We're excited for the plethora - and we hope to answer them all! We make one simple promise, Christopher: we'll be direct and honest. The answers may not be what folks love to hear, but they will be completely and unabashedly truthful.
On to the questions you've got. We'll start with the Hwy 151-Alamo Ranch Parkway question.
It seems very logical to continue Hwy 151 through Hwy 211 following the path of Alamo Ranch Parkway. However, that's not the case today. Frankly we've been working to get lane-miles off our system wherever possibly rather than adding roads to our grid.
That said, if the county (owner of ARP right now) includes the turnover of ARP to TxDOT as part of a larger transportation funding strategy in the future we would be happy to listen. Something like that would require a lot of folks to say "yes", though, including (but not limited to) the Alamo Area MPO, Alamo Regional Mobility Authority and the Texas Transportation Commission.
But as of right now, today, this moment ... us taking on Alamo Ranch Parkway isn't something we have written anywhere in our scheme.
As for Hwy 211 ... right now Bexar County Public Works is working to connect Potranco and Culebra roads. Beyond that ... we haven't had any detailed conversations at this point. Our recommendation if you feel this is a solution we should move aggressively on: get involved with the MPO and make comments at the Kendall Gateway meetings. We'll pass along the idea to our planners to ensure it's on the radar, but it's really going to take some local calls to make something like this viable.

As with all construction projects, I know things change as progress is made. What are the current timelines for the I-10 corridor projects? Namely:

• Ralph Fair to Fair Oaks
• Old Fred intersection
• Fair Oaks intersection
• activation of one-way frontage roads through Fair Oaks
• HOV lanes (I remember reading that this project will be opened in phases with first section to take a year, but progress seems to be moving rather quickly.)

Is there a webpage where I can read about the planned stages?
Thanks!
- AJ
Hey, AJ! You've reached out via email, but we're going to answer all these questions on the blog so all can benefit. You can look at the details of what we're doing on each project online here.
As for updated timelines, this blog is the go-to source. With that in mind, here's the latest schedule:

• Ralph Fair to Fair Oaks will wrap up this fall
• Old Fred intersection is open for business, though we still have that signal to install and have our traffic division turn on
• The intersection of Fair Oaks itself is set to be finished by Independence Day, but we have to wait for the frontage road conversion to open the intersection to full capacity
• We're still nailing down a firm timeframe for the frontage road conversion and hope to have something firm to discuss next month; right now we're leaning toward opening things in four stages with the Old Fred intersection being the divider ... the determining factor will really be the new exit and entrance ramps
• The expansion of I-10 to include HOV lanes between Ralph Fair and La Cantera is still on its initial pace; they expect to open up one lane each way as soon as 2019, with final completion and that fourth lane opened early 2021

I noticed the 2015 animated video showed two "managed lanes" on each side and the 2017 video shows one HOV. Any background on the change?
- AJ
We're guessing you're talking about the I-10 project on this. Honestly, we don't build where we're not wanted and, in this case, the local input was such that we change the plan from two managed lanes each direction to a single HOV lane and a traditional non-tolled express lane.

Why is the bridge over the Guadalupe River on 281 Spring Branch closed and when will it open again? Are repairs going to be made? Nothing has been done in weeks except traffic is now down to one lane over the River. You need to notify folks if roads are going to close.
- Trudy
We're totally reconstructing the southbound bridge, Trudy. It'll take us a while to get it all done out there - we've been trying to keep in touch with local media to keep folks up-to-date. When we shut down the bridge we found some pavement failures we didn't expect. Those are now fixed so we've moved our contractor on to the actual bridge.
As for the work ... we're tearing the bridge down to its skeleton, basically, and reconstructing everything around the frame. It won't be expanded with this one, but will be upgraded significantly.
The bridge will remain closed for the duration of work, which will be over a year.

What are the planned closures for I-10 west out of San Antonio [both NB and SB] the weekend of Memorial Day, specifically Saturday May 26, 2018 after 5:00 pm - need to get into and out of Boerne and Cordillera Ranch.
- Linda
We didn't have any closures! We actually avoid any major closures on major holiday weekends, period.
We're sorry we didn't reply sooner, Linda. Mail bag questions are collected and answered on this forum and not a place we offer immediate answers with direct emails. In the future you can check our weekly closures post online, or follow us on Twitter for real-time issues or answers.

Thank you for finally making a promise date, and opening up the WB access road at Old Fred on the 25th.
- Dave
We're as thrilled as anyone to see that kind of progress. We're hoping to keep the momentum! Right now Sundt is focusing on the new exit and entrance ramps so they can begin a successive chain of frontage road conversions. We're hoping to have all the major work done out there by the end of summer, though it's likely you'll still see equipment moving around into the fall just a little bit.
Bottom line: we're with y'all on this one. Fast is good when it comes to project delivery, and we're pulling all the levers we can to make it happen!

Is I-10 East still scheduled to be closed starting June 1? I saw something about it on your blog post from earlier in May. Just wondering if that is still the plan.
- Brad
It is - check out our latest closures list for updated plans.

Mail Bag: Why we use asphalt and not concrete

What work is currently happening at the turnaround by Ramsgate? Currently seeing it closed daily during the day.
Also, huge props to whoever finds the gifs for the blog!
- Kevin

Well, shucks. Thanks! We have fun with the gifs (and other graphics and references). We hope all y'all do as well.
The work at Ramsgate is a maintenance job to repair the concrete retaining wall and the bridge rail at and near the turnaround bridge. The work should be wrapped up by the first part of June. We know it's throwing off a few folks and their commutes - all highway maintenance tends to have that effect - but we're working hard to stay in touch with the USAA communications team to keep them in the loop. They are the top contributor to the traffic at the turnaround, after all, so we're doing what we can to coordinate the work with the good folks over there.


I travel Wurzbach Parkway to work. I see signs that talk about road closures beginning May 14. Can you tell me what to expect next week. Should I use 410 to travel to work?
- Rebecca
Rebecca, we're sorry this answer didn't come in time. We understand the work on Wurzbach has wrapped up at this point.
The closure was on Wurzbach Road and was done by the city of San Antonio, not us. They did a heckuva job getting word out and tried to be sure folks knew in advance of the closure.


Have they determined what caused the longitudinal cracking on I-10? I'm no engineer, but from the photos, it looks like when the contractors excavated material from the roadway edge, they failed to support that edge as it bore the weight of the Jersey barriers. Recent heavy rains probably didn't help either, eroding the exposed base material and surrounding soils.
- Mark

You kind of hit the nail on the head, Mark. The contractor is using, per plans, soil nail walls to support the edge of our excavation. In this instance the equipment for those soil nail walls bogged down and Flatiron's excavation team got a little ahead of things. This is a gamble literally every contractor takes on a project like this, and more than 99 percent of the time it pays off and we see no problems.
As you pointed out the rain didn't help here, and we saw a failure. It wasn't catastrophic, but any failure has potential of becoming that way. We worked hard to prevent the catastrophic failures that could have caused safety hazards.
Here's the silver lining: the delay is extremely minimal. Flatiron lost about a day and a half of production and that's it. On a three-year project that's amazing.
The long-term, permanent fix for the issue is literally designed into the construction plans. When it comes to roadway failures on a construction project, this was pretty much the best possible scenario.


Regarding the nearly complete NE 410/35 project between George Beach and Walzam, I give the project an A-. I no longer fear for my life on south bound lanes as the Rittman traffic no longer tries to zip across 5 lanes of traffic to get to 410 South and traffic seems to move pretty well through that section (the clog is now between Walzam and O'Connor on Northbound).
My only complaints are minor and as you have pointed out before, not necessarily needed. That is the street lights. Many in that section still don't work and one pole in front of Texas Thrift blinks constantly. And having some sodium lights and some LED is kind of tacky. Other than that, great job on this project!
- Jeff
Thanks, Jeff! We'll take it!

It kills us the project took as long as it has to finish, and we've done some internal reviews to see how we can prevent a lot of the delays we've seen on the job for future projects.
Having the new lanes open has been a huge milestone for us - and the big reason for the job in the first place. Well, those and the ramp revisions we've done along the corridor. With a little luck we'll have everything in place and be done - like done done - by mid-summer.
The includes the lights which, as we've said, will be burning as soon as we can get them connected to power. Thanks for your patience on it!


I know there a lot of construction going on 1604 between 90 and 151. Same thing for almost every intersection that have lights except Wiseman. It looks like they are not working on it and look pretty much the same for like couple months. Any idea what going on?
- Daryl
We had some work on retaining walls and drain structures that kept us from digging into Wiseman the way we've done at the other intersections over the last two months.
That will change here in the next couple of weeks, and southbound Loop 1604 will switch onto the frontage road just south of Hwy 151 here in June. That will let Zachry Construction go nuts on the new overpasses. Once the new southbound overpass is ready we'll flip traffic over - Zachry has been working on ways to provide incremental improvements to traffic as they're available (Webber also) on this project, effectively fast-tracking an already aggressive schedule.


The WB I-10 frontage road closure at Old Fred has caused the traffic to back up at the Fair Oaks Ranch bridge almost a 1/4 a mile. Having one exit/entry for 4 major neighborhood was the worst idea ever. Please open up the frontage road M-F 7-9am and 4-6pm. What is being done to alleviate this? This cannot be the norm for a month or more.
- Christina
This closure HAS to be a constant closure. Opening intermittently as you've suggested simply isn't physically possible. To install the pipes we're putting in the ground the road itself was torn up for about 500 feet.
Sundt is working to get this work finished quickly and should have it open by the end of this month. We know it has been really, really rough this month and we thank everyone for their patience.


In your May 1 post, you talked about the traffic lights, but since you were talking about Buckskin, were the lights there? If so, what about the Fair Oaks Parkway lights?
Also, you talked about quadrants and stages, neither of which means anything to me without a definition. Also, the map showed some orange sections of roads with some white markings around them. What do they mean?
- Al Koppen
We are building traffic signals at Buckskin Drive. The construction contract doesn't have us turning them on - that will fall to our traffic operations folks.
Sounds convoluted, we know. It has to do with the warrant for the signal, which you can read all about here. Right now we don't have a warrant for the signal - mostly because the intersection doesn't completely exist. Once the intersection opens we're confident the warrant will be met, but we technically have to wait for that to happen.
Traffic signals are indeed being built at the Fair Oaks Parkway intersection and will become active here in June (based on the current schedule). The signal configuration will be identical to that of the current Ralph Fair intersection.
As for quadrants and stages, we apologize if that graphic wasn't clear enough. Here it is, once again, for your benefit:

The orange areas are the areas where work is being done. You'll note the white/orange markings are construction barricades, indicating the area is blocked off for construction.

Every intersection mimics the x-and-y axis planes we learn about in math class growing up. Each intersection has four quadrants. In the graphic to the left, these are labeled as Quadrant I (quadrant 1), Quadrant II (2), Quadrant III (3) and Quadrant IV (4). The first quadrant is where the X and Y axes both have positively valued coordinates. The second quadrant is where the Y axis coordinate is positive but the X axis coordinate is negative. The third quadrant features two negative coordinates and the fourth quadrant features a positive X axis coordinate and a negative Y axis coordinate.
Most of the time, when we talk of intersection quadrants, we talk in terms of direction so we can keep things simple
 For the intersection of Old Fred/Buckskin Drive and I-10 that means a north quadrant (where the work is happening right now as noted with the long horizontal orange mark), a south quadrant (basically between Buckskin Drive and Indian Hills), an east quadrant (the one that was closed for like four months) and a west quadrant (the one we opened up most recently).
We're sorry this description wasn't clear enough in the first post and hope this explanation helps you keep everything straight.


Regarding the 10 east frontage rds. In particular the frontage road intersection with FM 1516 and Green Rd:
It seems this one-way conversion has greatly inconvenienced people that live and work on Green Road. I often see people going the wrong way on the access road the short distance to 1516 so they can use the underpass to go west on 10. There is also a large dirt area in front of the truck dealership that has become an impromptu thoroughfare to cut over to 1516 from Green Road in addition to cutting through the truck dealership parking lot.
Is there a solution or idea in place to alleviate this inconvenience?
- Marshall
First of all, shame on all those drivers who are making illegal and, more important, unsafe driving decisions. Seriously - all that is to save what, two minutes of drive time? Five?
The long-term fix is to complete the project. That'll open the frontage roads to two lanes (still one-way) and an increased traffic volume here will prevent this heinous behavior. The wider frontage roads will mean effective turnarounds and an easier path to get to the main lanes.
In the meantime, stepped up law enforcement may help those sacrificing the safety of everyone around them for their own convenience make better choices.


I noticed all the new overpass additions/reconstructions have been done with concrete main lane approaches (Old Fred Rd/Buckskin and Boerne Stage/Scenic Loop. Why isn't the entire project from Ralph Fair to La Cantera not being completely converted to concrete? It lasts so much longer with less maintenance. This patchwork appearance looks cheap and out of date.
- Pete
You're absolutely right, Pete. Concrete paving has a better lifespan, requires less maintenance and has a bit simpler repair than traditional asphalt roads.

They're also exponentially more expensive up front.
There's a definite case to be made the cost for concrete paving is lower in the long run - say, over a period of 30 or 50 years - but that doesn't help us get the project done today.
The business savvy folks out there can see the difficulty here. In many industries it might make sense to go with the larger up-front expenditure to save money over the course of time. If we met our break-even point in the next three to five years the concrete option would probably make sense on all our roads.
That's not the case, though. Right now, as inexpensive as asphalt is, the break-even point is decades away.
Bridges and approaches have been and will continue to be done with concrete for a number of reasons. On stretches of road built on top of ground we can use the traditional asphalt, so that's what we're doing.


What happened to the project guide tour for the 410 to 151 flyover that was supposed to be out on Thursday per the report?
- Chris
We did it! We have it posted on YouTube as well. Take a look - although everything you're seeing is now wide open and in use (Chris wrote us a couple of weeks ago).


Someone posted this question on nextdoor.com, and I am curious as well (and would like the correct info instead of people's opinions on social media):
Anyone know why the several miles of asphalt that was laid down between Boerne Stage and La Cantera mall was all ripped out? Also, any idea how far back that puts the construction timelines?
- Leslie

We asked our project staff about this question and they said they don't have a long stretch of asphalt we've torn out on the main lanes of the highway. We think he question is likely a reference to asphalt laid down during a previous project. We've taken out parts of the shoulders to tie the existing road with the expansion to the inside and the outside of the road.
We've also got some spots we're putting some temporary pavement on each side of the road so we can shift existing traffic lanes over to give our crews some elbow room to safely build what we're building.
This project - to widen I-10 between La Cantera Parkway and Ralph Fair Road - is still running on pace to finish up early 2020. We've not had anything that's pushed our construction timeline back - not even the asphalt issue from earlier in the month.

I-10 corridor report: pavement failures, future closures, progress

While you enjoy your beautiful spring weekends Flatiron Construction is hard at work expanding I-10 between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. Weather permitting, some major closures will happen at the Camp Bullis intersection soon.
Beginning Friday, May 18th, at 9 p.m. and finishing up by the morning of May 20th we will close the westbound lanes of I-10 at Camp Bullis. This closure will allow a crane to roll in and place half of the bridge beams for the expanded bridge. We will place the other half of the beams - the beams for the eastbound main lanes bridge - on June 1st through 4th. This will mean another weekend-long closure.

Fun fact: each beam we are setting is 100 feet long and weighs approximately 83,200 pounds (that's 41.6 tons for those of you keeping score at home). To put that weight in perspective, that is the equivalent of approximately eight African elephants or 320,000 bananas. With all that weight moving around, it is easy to see why the intersection is closed. It’s for your safety.
Eastbound and westbound traffic on Camp Bullis Rd. will be closed, only one direction at a time, during the weekends that the construction is taking place. Westbound traffic take the westbound frontage road and use the turnaround at Dominion Drive to get back to Camp Bullis. Eastbound traffic will have a similar scenario in reverse.

With the intersection being closed you may ask whether drivers will be confused on where to turn and when. We will have sufficient uniformed officers on hand to safely move and direct traffic through the intersection, along with message boards and signs. We are striving to repeat and improve upon the success we had at Dominion Drive while learning from what happened the last time we shut down I-10 at Camp Bullis.
If you are ever wondering what’s going on, you can check out the TransGuide cameras. You can also check out our previous posts on the project.


Pavement failure
THANK YOU to all for patience as we dealt with the pavement failure on the eastbound main lanes at Boerne Stage Road. The issue has been resolved and a strong temporary fix is in place. Fortunately the permanent fix will come as a happy result of the construction we're already doing.
What happened? We had an excavator get a bit ambitious and work just a little too far ahead of a crew installing temporary retaining walls. That led to some early settling in the dirt under the road and some buckling in the temporary retaining wall. It was a gamble the contractor took - a lot of contractors take - and it didn't pay off.
The cost for the fix came at the contractor's expense and we're pleased with the attention Flatiron Construction paid the issue. Huge kudos to their team.

That other direct connector is about to open (and other fun stuff)

Pardon our shameless cliffhanger, but we won't get to the good stuff until later.
This morning's conference call revealed some big-time closures over the upcoming weeks. We'll give you the Cliffs Notes from what we had:


I-10 at Camp Bullis

Full closure of the westbound main lanes beginning Friday night, May 18, and continuing through Monday morning, May 21. We'll have a full closure of the eastbound main lanes June 1-4. During both closures we'll have Camp Bullis closed under I-10.
These closures are to set bridge support beams for the expansion of the main lanes. Traffic will exit Camp Bullis, continue through the intersection and re-enter the highway.
We are ensuring proper coverage by off-duty police to control traffic at the Camp Bullis intersection.


US Hwy 281
On the southbound frontage road of US Hwy 281 at Loop 1604, the left-turn lane will remain closed continuously through May 26. The south-to-north turnaround remains open.
This allows crews to work on bridge support structures overhead.


I-35 at New Braunfels Ave
We have one more bridge pour coming, but no timeframe yet from the contractor. We're working to get that so we can get the notice out and finish this project up.


Loop 1604 northwest
Expect routine overnight closures at Wiseman Boulevard while crews reconstruct the intersection and install new signal poles.
Nightly closures of the US Hwy 90 main lanes at Loop 1604 will happen through the next week or so; we'll also close nightly the west-to-east turnaround at Loop 1604. All this is for bridge work.

By the way, that little spot on the northbound main lanes of Loop 1604 just north of Marbach, where traffic squeezes down to a single lane, should open back up to two lanes by the middle of May. Webber Construction ran into a utility conflict while doing some road expansion work and have gotten that conflict resolved. Look for that to open up and provide the relief folks have clamored for by the middle of this month.
Also ... that south-to-north turnaround at US Hwy 90 should be opened by the end of the month. We know it's a month later than we'd hoped; we ran into some issues with the new traffic signals system.
Thank you for your patience on this one, and thanks for not breaking out the hammocks when stuck in traffic.


I-410 at US 90
No major closures happening beyond the nightly closures of all main lanes of I-410 at US 90; we should be done pouring concrete there by the end of next week if all goes well.


I-35 SAMMC
Overnight work continues to finish the overhead highway lights mounted to the center median. We're also working on some ramps and the frontage roads. All of this should only impact overnight traffic.
On the bright side, Lane Construction is saying they should be finished with all work by the end of June.


I-410 at Hwy 151
Here's the big one:
The new eastbound Hwy 151 connector to northbound I-410 will open this weekend.

That's right; it's happening. And it's happening much earlier than expected. The overall project completion wasn't set to happen until the end of this summer ... but we're seeing enough light at the end of the tunnel to believe we'll have this one knocked out by mid-summer at the latest. We even reported an estimated completion of this one direct connector as the end of this month when we toured the project with our staff last month, and we still beat that expectation date.
If you ask us, that's pretty cool.
Of course, in order for us to get that connector opened up we'll need major closures on eastbound Hwy 151 and northbound I-410 starting Friday night and wrapping up by Monday morning.

The bottom line: Monday's morning commuters won't have to go through the intersections of Hwy 151 and I-410 or of I-410 and Military Drive to reach the northbound lanes of I-410. Traffic will be in its final configuration instead.
This leaves one last spot of work for the project: the southbound I-410 entrance from Culebra Road. You'll see increased effort on that ramp and should see it open up by the end of June if all goes well.
Once that ramp is done Williams Brothers will go back and lay the final surface of asphalt for the project. Yes, traffic is in its final configuration ... but the road surface itself isn't final. Please don't call us to tell us how bad it is - it's temporary until the project is finished.

Mail Bag: Apologetic replies to some tough questions on I-10 at Scenic Loop, Camp Bullis and on Loop 1604 at US 90

Last the Hillcrest residences saw on this blog was that there was going to be a temp turn around (to get Northbound on Lp 1604) between Marbach and
US 90 by mid April and the permanent turn around by the end of April. Are we still on track for those completion dates?
- J Sutfin
Clearly that didn't happen by the end of April, as we're now in May. Webber Construction is now saying they'll have it ready by the end of May.
Webber encountered a conflict with a signal pole and a drain structure when building and had to make some adjustments to the plans. They've also had some struggles with the signal control boxes that are now being fixed.
The new northbound lanes on Loop 1604 have been paved but need the signals to be operational before we can move traffic over. We're waiting to switch traffic to build the new turnaround.
It's all contingent, bottom line, on the signals. We've had our electricians at work on the issue through the last few weeks, and we're confident we'll get it done before the end of may.
Were it not for the conflict we didn't catch in the plans, we'd have had this set and ready by now - we do regret the delay and understand the direct impact it has on the lives of those in the Hillcrest subdivision.


Did you really think closing ALL of I-10 was a good idea? We will be avoiding Texas on our way back from Florida, and I hope somebody gets fired! Nobody else does this stupid stuff and then posts "Sorry".
- Roy
You guys close I-10 by Camp Bullis on a weekend? I had to pass by there this morning around 8:45 and no one is working. I passed by there again around 10:30 and 12:00 and still no one is working on the highway. How can you close I-10 on an weekend and no one is working on the construction?
The only people that were there were some cops helping direct traffic?
- Marc
I-10 Closure at Camp Bullis -- You have the lights set at Camp Bullis on flashing Red effectively running and entire interstate trough a stop sign. Can we please get a flashing yellow to keep the flow moving and not have all complete stops. The cross road under the bridge is closed so flashing yellow is more appropriate.
- Tim
First of all, we're always - always - going to have a major closure like this over a weekend rather than do it during the middle of the week. Full closures of the highway are a very normal thing across the United States as we safely construct the roads. We say "sorry" because we know it's inconvenient and we want to recognize the frustrations of others. Sorry, Roy, but nobody got fired over having that closure that was planned and publicized.
We were supposed to have officers directing traffic at the intersection to keep traffic flowing. We understand there was a small gap in coverage on that during a shift change; we've since addressed that issue (one that's unacceptable to us as well).
The bottom line: the closure was necessary (and it's something you'll see happen again as the summer nears). It's also something we know how to do well, and we know the hang-ups weren't reflective of the job we know how to do. We'll do better the next time.

WTH is the delay on the work under I-10 at Scenic Loop? They just completely stopped the work months ago, and now they just push dirt around occasionally. I was by there this past week and I saw a worker literally sleeping in his work truck.
- Joe (via Facebook)
Joe, to quickly recap the way this project has gone we started with working on the storm drain system, installed drain inlets, tore out the old roadway to rebuild it then build curb and sidewalks. Some of that work is more visible and obvious than other work is.
Right now the weather is the determining factor on when we'll have the final surface of asphalt in place - if we have dry enough weather we'll be able to lay asphalt this week. That means we'll have it all striped by mid-May and be out of the way and gone.
That, of course, depends heavily on weather. We can't very well lay asphalt or paint in wet weather.
As for the guy in the truck, there's a good chance he was doing paperwork and looked like he was out cold. Our inspectors office out of their white TxDOT trucks and can often be seen with their head down while working on their project paperwork.
That said, if you ever do see any of our guys, in their white TxDOT trucks, sleeping while in their trucks please let us know directly. Unless it's during the normal lunch hour timeframe - those guys work long and hard hours and may be taking a much-needed power break, but we need to make sure they're doing the jobs they're paid to do.

Heads up! Major closures this weekend

So there's this major event coming up. What's it called ... Fiesta, is it? Yeah, that's it.
Well, we won't have any major closures interfering with Fiesta events, which means most of our projects are trying to get work done before Fiesta starts up. That means a second straight weekend with quite a lot of big closures you may want to be aware of.


US Hwy 90 at I-410
This closure is a continuous closure and actually started today. It's way easier to show you what it is than to describe it, so take a look:

The closure will last until Wednesday, April 18 while crews do bridge work overhead. Williams Brothers is dedicating crews around-the-clock at this location to get it reopened.
With it closed traffic will head north to Hwy 151, turn around and return to US 90 to reach its destination.


I-410 near Marbach
The southbound frontage road will close between Marbach Road and US Hwy 90 starting Friday night at 9. We'll have it all reopened by 6 a.m. Monday. Traffic will simply get onto the main lanes of the highway and get right back off if they need to.


I-410 at Hwy 151

This one is exciting - and means good news!
All lanes will close at Hwy 151 Friday night and reopen by 7 a.m. Saturday while crews resurface the road. at the same time the westbound main lanes of Hwy 151 will close at I-410. Expect a doozy of a detour ... but it'll be overnight only.
Now for the good news part:
When things open up we'll be opening the brand-new southbound I-410 connector to westbound Hwy 151.
You can read that again to be sure you got it clearly. We'll go over details during a guided project tour Thursday, but it should open Saturday. To say we're a little excited is, well, a drastic understatement.


I-10 at Dominion Drive
We'll have the main lanes down to a single lane at Dominion Drive beginning Friday at 9 p.m. We'll have everything reopened by Monday at 5 a.m. This is to do work similar to what we did last week at Camp Bullis, though we don't expect the delays to be as long as they were last weekend.
This means we'll have Dominion Drive closed at I-10 through the weekend as well. Traffic off Dominion Drive (or Stonewall Parkway) will turn right onto the frontage road and turn around at the next available cross street to reach its destination.


I-35 at Eisenhauer
We'll have the northbound lanes closed here for some road work starting Friday at 9 p.m., and we'll reopen things by 5 a.m. Monday. We're nearing completion of all work on this project along I-35 ... so there shouldn't be too many more weekends to sit through like this out here.


I-35 at Walzem
This is a ramp closure only. We'll have the southbound ramp to Walzem closed for some resurfacing and striping. This will start Friday at 9 p.m. and run through the weekend until Monday at 5 a.m. Considering the closure we've got on northbound I-35 at nearby Eisenhauer, it'd be wise to exit early to reach Walzem.

Major closures to watch for this weekend

The full closures report will come later - likely late tonight - but there's a slew of closures happening this weekend. These are the types of closures folks like to know about well in advance.


I-10
We'll have full closures of I-10 on both sides of San Antonio. Those passing through the region ... well, we're sorry. Both closures start 9 p.m. Friday and will wrap up no later than 5 a.m. Monday. We're hoping things don't go that long, but folks should expect it.
On the east side of town the closure will be the main lanes at Foster Road. We'll have traffic exit Foster Road, pass through the intersection and re-enter the highway. Thing is, the frontage road is just a single lane through this area. Expect this to be pretty slow in both directions.
On the west side of town the closure will be the main lanes at Camp Bullis. We'll have traffic exit Camp Bullis, pass through the intersection and re-enter the highway.


I-410 at Hwy 151
Another full closure of the highway ... this will allow crews to set bridge support beams overhead. The good news: this one is overnight only, so daytime traffic will be unaffected. This is 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. each night. That's Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night.
Since we'll have the main lanes closed, both ways, at Hwy 151, we'll exit all traffic at Hwy 151. Traffic will move through the intersection then re-enter the highway.


Hwy 151 between I-410 and Hunt Lane
So ... we have a lot of work going on at this interchange. The good news: when we're finished with the work on Hwy 151 this weekend traffic will be in its final configuration - minus the new direct connectors - and we'll be all but finished with construction on Hwy 151 through here. Daily commutes are about to get that much better.
Beginning Friday at 9 p.m. and running until 9 p.m. Saturday we'll have the westbound main lanes closed to restripe the road and remove barrier. Traffic will exit Hunt Lane, move through the intersections and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp.
Beginning Saturday at 9 p.m. and running until 9 p.m. Sunday we'll do the same thing on the eastbound side. Traffic will exit I-410, pass through the intersections and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp.
We'll have officers on hand to minimize the impact of traffic being diverted from the I-410 main lanes.


Northbound I-35 to westbound I-410
There are two interchanges with I-35 and I-410, and it can be confusing as to which we're talking about sometimes. To clear that up, just think of the Windcrest area near Thousand Oaks and Walzem.
We'll have the northbound I-35 exit to westbound I-410 closed all weekend. The closure will start 9 p.m. Friday and wrap up no later than 5 a.m. Monday.
Traffic will need to head north to Weidner and turn around to reach its destination. There are a few other ways to get around this closure, but that's the easiest to describe. If you're a local resident and know a better way, feel free to use it.


US Hwy 90 at Loop 1604
We're working hard to reconstruct the intersection of US 90 and Loop 1604 right now, including getting the new northbound Loop 1604 bridge at US 90 opened for traffic later this month. That means another in a long line of weekend-long closures in this neck of the woods.
The westbound US 90 frontage road will close 9 p.m. Friday and reopen by 5 a.m. Monday for this reconstruction. Traffic will head out on the main lanes to Montgomery, then turn around and head back to Loop 1604 to get where it needs to go. This includes folks headed to Kriewald from the main lanes of US 90.


Frontage road long-term stuff coming
We have two spots with long-term frontage road closures about to begin. Both are on I-10 between Loop 1604 and Fair Oaks Parkway.
The first is the west-to-east turnaround at Camp Bullis. That'll close Wednesday morning, April 9, and remain closed through mid-May. This is the first in a series of turnaround closures between Camp Bullis and Ralph Fair, so expect your turnaround closure to come up pretty soon if this one doesn't impact you. Without the turnaround, of course, traffic will simply use the signalized intersection to do its thing.
The other is the westbound frontage road - well, the frontage road on the westbound side - at Old Fredericksburg Road and Buckhorn Drive. The good news: that spot that's been closed is finally opening up over the weekend (we're told).
That means we'll need to work on another quadrant of the new intersection, which will start Monday morning. That new quadrant is that little slot on the Fair Oaks Parkway side of Buckskin Drive along the eastbound main lanes.
Sundt Construction is telling us they have significantly less work to do on this quadrant so it won't be a several-months-long closure like the last one was. They're talking about 4-6 weeks to do the work they need to do.

Keeping an eye on traffic ... and closures on I-10

Did you know you can see up-to-date photos of traffic on our major corridors across the city on our Transguide website?
The folks on the morning and evening news casts aren't the only ones who can view the 200-plus cameras Transguide has across the city. That list of cameras just got longer with new fixtures along the I-10 project expanding the highway to include HOV lanes between La Cantera Parkway and Ralph Fair Road.

Those new cameras are located at:

• Ralph Fair Road
• Boerne Stage Road
• Dominion Drive
• Heuermann Road
• Camp Bullis Road
• Rim Drive
• La Cantera Parkway

While you can't get a live video feed from the cameras at home without a hard line directly into the Transguide center, you can catch snapshots of traffic updated every few minutes online from any computer.
As we're doing on most of our highway projects across the area, the new cameras were included during the earliest stages of construction and came online the beginning of 2018. This means any time you plan to move between Leon Springs and San Antonio you can take a look at how traffic is moving on the Transguide website and potentially save you a from a headache.


Speaking of headaches....

We'll have all lanes of I-10 closed at Camp Bullis this weekend (April 6-9) while crews prepare the overpass bridge to be expanded. Next weekend (April 13-16) we'll have I-10 down to a single lane at Dominion Drive to do the same work there. Both weekends the cross street under the highway will be completely closed.
Work begins each weekend on Friday at 9 p.m. and we'll have things wrapped up no later than Monday morning at 5.
This weekend traffic will exit Camp Bullis, follow the frontage road and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp. We'll have officers working at the intersection of Camp Bullis to direct traffic and keep things moving.


What’s next at the bridges?
In addition to getting the existing bridges ready to be expanded we have bridge crews still working on those support structures. Once all that support work is finished we'll be ready to set bridge beams and work on the expansion we're preparing for. That will require a slight diversion at these intersections, which is still being worked on. We should have an update in May telling you what to expect while these bridge decks get built.


One more thing....

The west-to-east turnaround at Camp Bullis will close Monday, April 9 and will remain closed through the month of April. During that time traffic will use the signalized intersection to turn around. We are working with San Antonio TCI to ensure the signal is timed appropriately to handle the additional traffic.
These kinds of closures at the intersections will happen throughout the project as we work overhead to expand the bridges. Though we may not be to your favorite turnaround yet, expect it to happen at some point this year. We'll do our best to keep the duration of the closure down to as close to a month as we can.

I-10 HOV lanes: bridging the gap is the push

As weather gets warmer weekend traffic to the Texas Hill Country starts to swell (who can blame anyone for taking a trip up that way?). As you drive through the construction zone along I-10 west of town you'll note the progress that has been made at the several overpass bridge crossings.

It's at the overpasses you'll note our work to first build the new inside lane of the highway before getting to that outside lane. Flatiron Construction is working to have incremental improvements ready for drivers by opening the inside lane for traffic, giving drivers three lanes of I-10 out to Ralph Fair Road, before fully working on the outside lane.
Bridge-building crews have been working in a progressive fashion on the overpasses along the project. Specialized crews finish work at one location to move on, allowing the next specialized crew to fill in behind. We have crews that demo the edge of the bridge so the new portion blends seamlessly, crews who dig foundations for bridge support structures, concrete crews that build the bridge support structures and bridge crews that set beams and build the actual bridge itself.

At Dominion Drive you'll see columns and bridge support caps between the existing main lanes. Together these will support the bridge beams. At Camp Bullis Road crews are drilling foundations for these columns.
Work along the entire project is contained behind barrier during the day with only minimal overnight closures planned over the next few weeks. Even at both these intersections drivers will see no major daytime impacts due to the work.
The other major overpass on this project, at Boerne Stage Road, is where crews demolishing the old bridge rail are working. You'll see overnight closures to let this happen, but no impacts to the intersection itself are expected. Once the old bridge rail is removed the next wave of crews will begin building up the support structures at Boerne Stage and you'll start to see how that bridge will expand.

 

What’s next at the bridges?
The specific traffic control plan for diversion around the construction zone will be tailored to accommodate the bridge work and will protect our crews as well as motorists. Two options for traffic control are being evaluated and, once finalized, you will be updated in our next post regarding what to expect while the main structure of these bridges get built. Stay tuned.

 

What else is going on?

• Still working on our storm sewer drain structures
• Still working on storm water detention ponds
• Working on retaining walls at a few locations

Are the lanes of I-10 west of town really that narrow?

We've had more than a few folks call, email or otherwise ask us about the lane widths on I-10 between La Cantera Parkway and Ralph Fair Road, where we're adding two lanes in each direction.

 

Just how wide are the lanes?
Throughout the construction zone lanes are set at a typical standard of 12 feet wide with a minimum separation between the edge of the lane and the concrete barrier of one foot, measured from the inside edge of the lane line.

That's the typical width of the highway lanes. In a few small stretches of the construction zone the travel lanes are reduced to 11 feet while maintaining the one-foot separation to the concrete barrier. For reference, most vehicles range from five feet wide with small compact cars and seven feet wide with large pickup trucks. Semi trucks are, by federal standard, just over eight feet wide.
By the way, at a height of nearly four feet those concrete barriers tend to tower outside car windows. Some have even commented on how close the barriers feel when driving through. We're all Texans, after all, and we're used to our wide-open spaces. We can’t be blamed for appreciating some elbow room.
You still have that full foot between the edge of the lane and the barrier, though.

 

Why the varying lane widths?

Safety is our top priority. The traffic control plan for this job, which is specific to the project, sets lane widths and standards in the work zone to keep motorists and the work crews safe. Project supervisors are constantly assessing conditions and making approved changes as needed.
One change you may have noticed is the reduced speed limit for the westbound lanes. That 60 MPH limit is not just a construction-zone recommendation. It's enforceable by law enforcement, and you can't simply get out of speeding tickets in work zones by going to traffic school. We've recently set out new speed limit signs equipped with radar and an LED reader board showing drivers their own speed to help drivers obey the new speed limit.

What’s up next for the project?

• Crews will continue the placement of storm sewer facilities
• Drill shaft boring at Camp Bullis bridges will take place in the next couple of weeks
• Construction of bent caps at Dominion bridge will occur
• Placement of asphalt bond breaker between the eastbound and westbound main lanes will be added

Mail Bag: revisiting old answers, Ralph Fair Road, Fair Oaks Pkwy and more

Great work keeping the blog updated and providing great information!
Two questions: in the last mailbag there was a question about I-35 at Walzem reducing down to three lanes in each direction then opening up to four lanes.
You wrote that it is supposed to be four lanes but it is still three lanes each direction; any idea when that is supposed to be complete? (I know the weather hasn’t cooperated).
Second; I read the post regarding stop lights and what it takes to install (namely cost) and have a new respect before ‘firing from the hip’ saying every intersection that causes me a few seconds of inconvenience needs one. However, there is one intersection that, I think, is overdue for another look — Foster Rd and FM 1346. I’ve seen eastbound traffic back up all the way where the two lanes merge into one. Any plans for a traffic light there in the near future? The four-way stop seems very outdated.
And a comment about the 35 project— it rocks! You guys kicked its [expletive]!
Thanks again for the great information and posts! The person that keeps this updated does a fantastic job!

- Todd
First of all, flattery will get you ... well, pretty much anything. Thanks so much! Sorry we had to edit your comment a bit. This is a family blog, after all!
To your first question ... we were fully wrong about I-35 being opened up earlier. We were operating on old information and got it wrong. Instead of opening in January, it actually opened up to the new capacity last week and you are (hopefully) enjoying that extra lane each direction. We learned from the experience and will add extra verification with guys in the field before posting things in the future.
As for the second question, the best we can do is put the location on our list to be studied. You're not the first to ask, and we did recently upgrade that intersection with flashing yellow lights. We have to go with the hard data, so we'll see what things look like once we've done a warrant study.


I’ve been noticing some closures overnight at the Scenic Loop and I-10 overpass in Boerne so crews can law pavement underneath. This is exit 543, not the Leon Springs overpass at Boerne Stage Road. I’m not sure if these are being posted under the “Boerne” or “Leon Springs” categories, but I haven’t seen these particular closures in the weekly posts. Am I missing something? I live by this particular overpass and the detours are pretty far out of the way if we can’t go under the freeway.
- Grant
These should actually be posted under "Other Roads - Boerne". Because it's actually Scenic Loop Road, not I-10, that's closed it goes under a bit of its own heading.
The detour for this one is pretty simple - simply head down to Balcones Creek, cross over and turn around, then come back. The whole thing is about three miles.


Regarding Gold Canyon Exit at 1604, thanks for the quick response.
This same setup occurs on eastbound 1604 at the exits for 281 north and south. Two normal lanes and an auxiliary lane. That auxiliary lane terminates with the exit for 281 South. However, prior to that termination there is an exit for 281 North. If this is an unsafe condition, why is it allowed for this area but not for Gold Canyon?
- Marshall
The two areas actually aren't the same at all. Here's a look at the Gold Canyon area you're asking about:

Note the auxiliary lane stretches less than half a mile (the orange line is the auxiliary lane) and encounters both an entrance ramp, with traffic trying to enter the highway and weave onto the main lanes, and an exit ramp, with traffic weaving off the highway. We've also got a bridge in the middle of everything, limiting what we can do here.
Now, here's a look at eastbound Loop 1604:

You'll have to click on this one to blow it up a bit, it's not the same scale. Why? Because it's a significantly longer stretch of roadway we're trying to fit in the same column width in the blog. The auxiliary lane to which you're referring is well over a half-mile - and it doesn't feature the conflict of entering and exiting traffic. It's also lacking that pesky bridge in the middle.
If we were to stretch it out to capture the conflict of entering traffic with these two exit ramps, by the way, the stretch would be nearly a full mile.
Remember, that Gold Canyon area is well under a half-mile. The distance between these two exit ramps alone is more than what you've got at Gold Canyon.
That's why the situation you see on eastbound Loop 1604 approaching US 281 is safe and an extra ramp on westbound Loop 1604 near Gold Canyon would not be.


My wife and I think a 'fly over' from Ralph Fair to (eastbound) I-10 and from (westbound) I-10 to Ralph Fair would increase the functionality of both roadways. I know it would be expensive but sooner would be cheaper than later. This is going to have to be addressed due to the population explosion in eastern Kendall County. Is anything like that in the works? Thank you.
- Marcial
One thing you're not seeing (yet) is the huge benefit that new intersection at Old Fredericksburg Road will be to the intersection at Ralph Fair Road. All those folks in that new development along Old Fred Road that's now pushing through the Ralph Fair intersection will be removed from the traffic equation completely.
Just hang tight a few more months, you'll see what's happening and you'll be glad we didn't go in with a direct connector and it's quarter-billion-dollar price tag. Everything we've had going the last few years has been part of an overall plan to address the growth, and we're just about finished.
For the record ... no, we don't have one planned at this location, either. It's doubtful we'll ever get to that sort of situation. Frankly, we need direct connectors at Loop 1604 and I-10 or at Loop 1604 and I-35 first.


It is encouraging to see the progress on I-10 north of 1604. The progress seems to end at Dominion Drive however. What is the expected completion date of this interstate expansion and scope (distance) to be included?
- Dugald
We're glad we're encouraging! The expansion will add two lanes in each direction between La Cantera Parkway and Ralph Fair Road. We're scheduled to finish around the end of 2020. You'll see a new lane in each direction ready to use in 2019, though.


Please add me to your email list for traffic updates.
- Tami
We actually don't keep an email list. Your best bet is to subscribe to email alerts on our blog, which can be done by entering your email in the subscription bar on the left, and you'll get notices every time we post something.


Can you send me a picture of what the intersection at Fair Oaks parkway and I-10 will look like when completed.
- Chuck
All of that is posted online, Chuck. Take a look here.


What is going on with UTSA Blvd near UTEX Blvd? The expansion project from three lanes to five lanes looked complete in the Fall. Then after a few weeks, crews tore up the new surface for half of the new lanes for what looked like drainage work. It's been like that for about three months now with very little activity. This back-to-one-lane-each-way thing is frustrating after getting to use the expanded lanes.
- John
You're one of a growing list of folks asking us, John. We'll tell you what we told the others: that's all part of a private commercial development and they're moving around some utility stuff. We are pretty sure all the work is being done for Security Services FCU, who is developing that whole area along the road heading toward I-10.
We don't have any real oversight with them; as long as the traffic control is set up in line with standards in our Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (it is), they're fine to be out there and we have no tools available to spur them along.

All major closures OFF for this weekend

We got word yesterday some closures planned for this weekend have been pushed while a few others have been added to the slate. Buckle up and we'll get straight to the point.

Called off ... for now:

I-35 at New Braunfels Avenue. We had planned a full closure of the I-35 main lanes this weekend. We've run into a scheduling issue and won't be able to get the bridge support beams on site. If we don't have beams, we can't set them - which means we won't need to close the highway. We are told by our contractor, CRG Inc., the beams will be on site and ready to be set Feb. 2-5.
Boerne Stage Road at I-10 (Leon Springs). We had nightly closures of Boerne Stage Road at I-10 scheduled beginning the night of Tuesday, January 30. This has been pushed; we do not yet have a new date. Expect to see that posted in an upcoming lane closures report.

I-410 at Hwy 151. Last weekend we had some frontage road closures to set steel support beams to finish the framework for the southbound I-410 connector to westbound Hwy 151. We were planning on this weekend being the first of three consecutive weekends with closures to install steel support beams for the eastbound Hwy 151 connector to northbound I-410. The first two weekends the main lanes of I-410 will be completely closed at Hwy 151. The detour is really straightforward: exit Hwy 151, follow the frontage road and re-enter at the next available ramp. We'll have police officers at intersections to keep folks moving.
UPDATE: So ... right at 5 p.m. this evening (Thursday) we got word from Williams Brothers Construction the 410-151 closure will NOT be happening this weekend as planned. Permit applications for the trucks hauling the oversized steel beams had not been filed on time, so the beams won't be on site. As with the I-35 at New Braunfels Ave situation we cannot set a beam we do not have.
Which means ... we really don't have any major closures set for this weekend. But next weekend? That'll be a different story.

In the future:

Closures at the intersection of I-410 and Hwy 151 will happen, weather permitting, the first three weekends of February.
We also expect an intersection closure of the eastbound frontage road of US Hwy 90 at northbound Loop 1604 February 2-4. Immediately following that work the eastbound main lanes of US 90 will close at Lp 1604 for some overhead bridge work.
And don't forget about that planned closure we talked about above of I-35 at New Braunfels next weekend. That one, we're fairly sure, is absolutely going to happen.