Loop 410 and I-10 Interchange Ramp Closure in East San Antonio

This Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. crews for the I-410/I-10 East Interchange Project in east San Antonio will be closing the westbound I-10 ramp connecting to northbound I-410 to repair guardrail fences.

DETOUR

I-10 Westbound traffic to I-410 North should take the I-410 southbound ramp to the I-10 eastbound ramp to the I-410 northbound ramp.

Various closures of the ramp connections between I-410 and I-10 East will be required periodically throughout the next three years of the project. These closures can sometimes be complex due to the nature of the cloverleaf interchange, but clear detour options will be provided. 

Learn more about the project at here. 

Get the latest information and traffic alerts by following us on Twitter or Facebook. 

Highway Improvements Continue: I-410/I-10 East Interchange Project Set to Begin in Far East San Antonio

 

When Americans launch the last of their fireworks this 4^th of July, the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) San Antonio District will launch a $100 million effort to improve one of the city’s most important interchanges.

Beginning the week of July 5, TxDOT will start a 38-month project to improve a portion of the I-410/I-10 East interchange in east San Antonio. Williams Brothers Construction Company, Inc. will construct the project and Raba Kistner, Inc. will help TxDOT manage it. The work focuses primarily on the way drivers access eastbound I-10 and southbound I-410. The new design includes a new direct connector from northbound I-410 near East Houston Street to eastbound I-10 near Ackerman Road and a new southbound I-410 connector from westbound I-10 near Ackerman to southbound I-410 near East Houston Street.

In addition to improvements that will make travel through the interchange more efficient, the contractor will also rebuild the southbound overpass at Houston Street as part of the I-10 to southbound I-410 connector. Frontage road improvements, retaining walls, high-mast and center lane lighting, drainage improvements, and new asphalt pavement on sections of northbound I-410 from I-10 northward are also included in the work.

I-10 construction on San Antonio’s east side isn’t anything new. Since 2016, drivers and businesses have become more than familiar with road work. Through a series of reconstruction projects, TxDOT has been working to increase capacity to meet the growing traffic demand by upgrading the highway to current safety and design standards and address deteriorating pavement conditions. Those projects include:

·         I-10 East from Foster Road to Graytown Road – Includes various safety and mobility improvements. The project began in 2016 and was completed in fall 2020.

·         I-10 East from I-410 to Loop 1604 - Reconstruction along an approximately 6.7-mile section of I-10, including additional travel lanes and improved exit and entrance ramps. Work began in fall 2018 and is expected to be complete this summer.

·         I-10 East from Loop 1604 to Pfeil Road – Reconstruction along an approximately 2.8-mile section of the highway, including added travel lanes, bridge reconstruction, and frontage road improvements. The project began in early 2020 and is expected to be complete in 2024.

·         I-10 from Graytown Road to the Bexar County line – Reconstruction of approximately 5 miles of highway, including added travel lanes and frontage road and ramp improvements. The project began in late 2020 and is expected to be complete in 2024.

The upcoming I-410/I-10 East interchange project is the first in a series of planned improvements for the entire I-410/I-10 East interchange system in the coming years. It is a critical step towards providing safer and better ways of traveling San Antonio for the 83,000 drivers who use the interchange each day.

Drivers and businesses can expect periodic traffic shifts, lane closures, and detours through the course of the project. For updates, check out the Go Ahead! Blog. Updates are also available on TxDOT San Antonio’s Facebook page at  @TxDOTSanAntonioTx and @TxDOTSanAntonio on Twitter.

New Highway Lanes of I-10 in East San Antonio Open to Drivers

Motorists travel the new section of I-10 between Loop 410 and Loop 1604 in east San Antonio.

Getting around San Antonio has just become a lot easier.

Drive through the city’s east side and you will find a completely new look to one of San Antonio’s busiest sections of Interstate 10. For more than four years, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been overseeing the rebuilding of approximately seven miles of I-10 between I-410 and Loop 1604. The project to bring the highway to the latest design is now coming to an end. To the 75,000 drivers who travel the section of roadway each day, the improvements in safety and mobility are a welcome relief to what was once heavy congestion and crumbling asphalt.

Late last month, workers striped the final section of the highway. Drivers now have six lanes, improved exit and entrance ramps, rebuilt overpasses, and a modern highway built to today’s standards. Orange barrels still line some parts of the roadway. However, those will soon disappear once workers complete the final touches, including new lighting, signs, and wrapping up the new eastbound Ackerman entrance ramp.

Construction barrels along I-10 in east San Antonio. Workers are putting the finishing touches on one of the city's most important highways.

Rebuilding the section of I-10 was no easy job. Utilities had to be relocated, old pavement removed, and overpasses demolished. Drainage systems were installed, a new road foundation built, concrete poured, and overpasses constructed. All of this was done while keeping traffic moving. Imagine rebuilding your house with 75,000 people coming through your living room each day and you get the idea. Engineers and contractors spent a large amount of time designing the project to minimize the impacts on motorists. This included building the highway in phases, working at night, and avoiding rush-hour closures.

While the section from I-410 to Loop 1604 is practically finished, workers are making progress on another I-10 reconstruction project. This one picks up at Loop 1604 and stretches approximately three miles eastward to Pfeil Road. It includes widening the highway to six lanes, rebuilding overpasses, converting the frontage roads to one-way access, and “reversing” several ramps. The three-year project began early last year.

Meanwhile, workers on an unrelated project are finishing converting the frontage roads from Foster Road to Graytown Road to one-way traffic. The project includes the new Foster Road turnaround and the new overpass at Woodlake Parkway.

Even bigger improvements are scheduled for I-10 in east San Antonio. This summer, TxDOT will oversee a new $101 million contract to improve a section of the I-410 and I-10 interchange. The work is part of an overall effort to rebuild the interchange and meet the transportation needs of a growing city and keep San Antonio moving. 

Need Additional Information?

Website: TxDOT’s I-10 East from I-410 to the Bexar/Guadalupe County Line webpage

Construction Update “Go Ahead!” Blog: http://txdotsanantonio.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @TxDOTSanAntonio

Contact Us: Send an email through our comment form.  

New Improvements Underway on I-10 in East Bexar County

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has begun construction on a $149 million project that will improve roughly five miles on I-10 and frontage roads between Graytown Road and the Bexar/Guadalupe County line. 

The project kicked off on January 25, 2021 and is intended to expand from 4 lanes to 6 lane expressway with intersection operation improvements and conversion of frontage roads to one way operations. Construction is expected to complete by June 2025.

One of the most significant improvements is the conversion of the frontage roads from two- to one-way operations on both sides of IH-10 between Graytown Road to FM 2538. The conversion will take place at the project onset to allow for construction of utility infrastructure along the outside of the frontage roads. Appropriate signs, pavement markings and construction barrels will be utilized to guide traffic safely through the construction zone.

Below are a few more notable improvements planned for this project:

• New mainlane overpass at Pfeil Road with turnarounds will be constructed. 
• New mainlane underpasses at FM 1518 and FM 2538 will be constructed. These underpasses will include turnarounds for eastbound and westbound frontage roads. 
• New mainlane bridges over Cibolo Creek and Woman Hollering Creek.

To stay informed on the project, follow us on Twitter or subscribe for updates . 

Weekend Closures to Impact Westbound I-10 Drivers in East San Antonio

Motorists traveling I-10 in East San Antonio this weekend can expect some slowdowns. Drivers traveling westbound will experience lane closures as workers shift westbound I-10 traffic between Woodlake Parkway and Ackerman Road to new concrete pavement. The weekend work also includes temporarily closing the westbound I-10 exit to northbound Loop 410, and a longer-term westbound entrance ramp closure at Ackerman Road.

Beginning Friday afternoon, June 19, weather permitting, crews will begin shifting westbound traffic to the two newly constructed inside mainlanes of I-10 between Woodlake Parkway and Ackerman Road. The work is expected to take place from noon Friday to noon Sunday, June 21. Shifting drivers to the inside will allow construction crews to begin rebuilding the existing westbound outside travel lanes. The eastbound lanes should not be impacted.

The weekend traffic switch also involves temporarily closing the westbound entrance ramp to the Loop 410 interchange to allow crews to build a new temporary ramp. The ramp closure will take place from 8 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 20.

Westbound traffic wanting to access Loop 410 will be detoured to W.W. White, make a left at the overpass, and take eastbound I-10 to access north and southbound Loop 410. Motorists need to pay attention to detour signs and watch for workers and stopped vehicles.

On Monday morning, motorists should be prepared for a summer-long change to the westbound I-10 entrance ramp just west of Ackerman Road. Workers will temporarily close the westbound entrance for reconstruction. Drivers on Ackerman Road wanting to access westbound I-10 can use the following detour:

Southbound Ackerman traffic can travel south under the I-10 overpass, use the eastbound frontage road to Foster Road, turn left on Foster, and take the westbound frontage road to the westbound entrance ramp just west of Foster Road.

Northbound Ackerman traffic can use the eastbound frontage road to Foster Road, turn left on Foster, and take the westbound frontage road to the westbound entrance ramp just west of Foster Road.

 

The Ackerman entrance ramp will remain closed for approximately three months as workers build a new entrance ramp to I-10.

This latest westbound traffic switch comes on the heels of last weekend’s eastbound switch in the same location between Ackerman Road and Woodlake Parkway.

The work is part of TxDOT’s three separate ongoing projects to improve approximately 10 miles of the interstate in east San Antonio between the Loop 410 interchange and Pfeil Road. Improvements include adding a new lane in each direction and rebuilding the interstate to meet today’s heavy traffic load, as well as safety upgrades and operational improvements to ramps and frontage roads.

 

I-10 in Far East San Antonio: Say Goodbye to the Current Graytown Road Bridge

We’re at it again with another significant change to the I-10 corridor in Far East San Antonio. Just when drivers in the area have settled in with one-way frontage roads and various traffic switches, they’re about to notice something is missing within our most recent mainlane expansion project limits between Loop 1604 and Pfeil Road. 

Starting this Friday, April 24, the existing Graytown Road crossing at I-10 (shown to the right) will be closed for the long term, and our contractor will begin removing the overpass. Drivers wishing to cross I-10 will be detoured to the underpass at Pfeil Road located slightly farther east.
The demolition of the existing crossing will require a full closure of the I-10 mainlanes between Graytown Road and Pfeil Road starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 24 and continuing until 5 a.m. Monday, April 27. Drivers will be directed to take the following detours:

• Eastbound mainlane traffic will take the Graytown Road exit and re-enter the mainlanes on the newly constructed temporary entrance ramp located east of Graytown Road.
• Westbound mainlane traffic will take the newly constructed temporary Graytown Road exit ramp and re-enter the mainlanes at the next entrance ramp.
  

The Graytown Road crossing at I-10 will ultimately be reconfigured to an underpass and will be located west of the current overpass to align with the eastbound and westbound I-10 frontage road intersections. This will create a straight and seamless crossing of I-10 and will improve safety and mobility for drivers traveling on I-10, particularly for those driving freight trucks or other large vehicles.

For more information, visit the project website for I-10 East from I-410 to the Bexar/Guadalupe County Line. You may also join our email list to receive updates on major changes and progress on the I-10 improvement projects and follow our Twitter feed (@TxDOTSanAntonio) for ongoing traffic updates.

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.

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.

Major closures this weekend on I-10 East ... why?

Drivers have probably noticed more activity, including recent lane switches around the new Woodlake Overpass the past few weeks. Texas Sterling Construction is working hard to complete this new intersection for local residents.


Once built this intersection will particularly benefit those using Woodlake Parkway on a daily basis. Drivers will have better access into and out of the neighborhood. Driving time will improve with new turnarounds. The new intersection will improve the overall flow of traffic and even open up opportunities for future expansion of Woodlake Parkway to the south.


The new Woodlake intersection is expected to be complete by end of the summer.


Ramp Reconfigurations… they can’t come fast enough.
We have heard your concerns about the backup onto the main lanes and we appreciate your patience on this one.


Texas Sterling Construction has been working with utility partners to speed up the ramp reconfigurations. As of now, the contractor is building the outside lanes of the frontage roads. Once they finish they will move to the inside lanes. That's when crews will tie the new ramps to the frontage roads.


We’re hoping that can all happen this summer. We know summer sounds a long time from now, but it will be here before we know it.


Upcoming lane closures
Texas Sterling Construction will set beams for the turnaround at Foster Road this weekend. This requires closing the main lanes of I-10 at Foster Road. That work will start by 7:00 a.m. Saturday, February 17; lanes will reopen no later than 5:00 a.m. Monday, February 19.


The detour is pretty simple. Traffic will exit Foster Road, continue along the frontage road and re-enter at the next available ramp. We'll have officers controlling traffic at the intersections to help things keep moving. Despite our best efforts you should expect delays if you’re driving this section of I-10 this weekend.


As always, drive friendly when you see those construction zone signs. The weather has been cold and rainy the last couple of days, so take this as a friendly reminder to use caution - especially in construction zones.


About the project
The $63.8 million I-10 East project started Fall 2016 and is expected to wrap-up mid-2019. Texas Sterling Construction is the contractor along with CEC as the project management and inspection team. Improvements include: new bridge at Woodlake Parkway, intersection upgrades, new signals, reconfiguration of entrance/exit ramps and conversion of the frontage roads. You can read all the details about the project here.

New Year ... new updates on the I-10 East project

It sure has been cold outside ... we're hoping this post comes with warmth of good news to start 2018 for those driving the I-10 corridor east of town.

Here’s a quick project recap
The $63.8 million I-10 East project started fall 2016 and is expected to wrap-up mid-2019. Texas Sterling Construction is doing the heavy lifting while CEC does the project management and inspection. Work include a new overpass bridge at Woodlake Parkway, several intersection upgrades (including some new signals), reconfiguration of entrance and exit ramps and conversion of the frontage roads. You can read all the details about the project here.

So what’s the GOOD news?
Today westbound traffic will move onto the new Woodlake Overpass at 10:00 a.m. Lane shifts on the westbound side currently in place will be removed to allow traffic access to the new westbound lanes.
Yes, that's only the westbound side.
We know you’re probably wondering about the eastbound lanes; crews will turn focus to the eastbound bridge, which should open before summer.

One-way frontage roads
One of our big project milestones of 2017 was getting the frontage roads converted to one-way. We hope by now drivers have acclimated to the one-way frontage roads between Foster and Greytown roads. The one-way conversion was crucial to improve safety with the continued development of the corridor.
The conversion was accelerated by eight months to speed up delivery of the project. We know the transition hasn't been perfect for everyone, but Texas Sterling put a temporary turnaround at 1516 to support flowing traffic that should be helping. Reconfigured ramps are coming in 2018 to push the traffic build-up onto the frontage roads and away from the main lanes.

Drive friendly, y’all!
The winter months naturally bring cold and rainy weather that cause slick, wet roads. As a friendly reminder, be safe and drive smart - particularly through construction zones. If you have questions and need some answers? Let us know. We want to keep you informed!

Mail Bag: Turnarounds along I-10 East, resurfacing on Lp 1604 and more

I recently discovered a historical marker on Ammann Rd just east of SH 46, celebrating the Pinta Trail. If I had not checked out the Historical Commission of Texas' website, I would have never knew it existed. Are there not a lot of historical marker directional signage on state-maintained roads in Kendall County? I seem to see them in many other portions of the State, but maybe I'm missing the forest for the trees in my own area.
- Mark
This question caused us to go back to our Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices and our traffic operations gurus to find a good answer. Section 2M.11 covers these specific signs.
You're welcome to peruse the MUTCD on your own at any time. It's a handy guide for understanding the why's behind the what's with our signs.
Alright ... the answer (in plain English): We provide signs for all historical markers that are within our right-of-way and are outside city limits. In this case, the marker may have fallen outside our right-of-way and may even be in city limits.
If there are any markers you're seeing without these call-out signs that fit the bill of being in our right-of-way and are outside city limits, let us know!

The schematic for the IH 10 E & FM 1516 intersection calls for a complete reconfiguration, with turnarounds in both directions (for 1516) and two lanes in each direction for the underpass, including replacing existing riprap with retaining wall. Presently TSC has used the eastern half of the 1516 overpass to install an east-to-west turnaround. Why does this differ from the project schematic? And when will the 1516 intersection be reconfigured to match the schematic? If TSC bid an alternate to the schematic, why wasn't the public notified?
- Marshall
Great questions, Marshall. For argument's sake, let's use the schematics posted online as our base for this conversation. Fair?

These schematics are preliminary and used to explain what our overall vision for the project is. This vision remains.
Yes, we fully intend to construct turnarounds at the FM 1516 intersection as we had presented during our public meetings on the work being done. During the detailed design stages of the project we discovered an elevation issue with this intersection, however. If we were to construct the turnarounds under the current bridge, as shown in the preliminary schematics, we would end up with either (1) turnarounds rendered unusable by large trucks because the clearance under the bridge is too short or (2) major flooding problems from turnarounds cut deeply into the ground and set well below the elevation of the roadway around it.
The solution? Build a new bridge.
That's happening during the expansion of I-10 set to begin later next year. We're adding a lane in each direction between I-410 and Loop 1604. In doing this, we're also replacing many of the overpass bridges - including the bridge over FM 1516 - and making them longer, taller and wider. After this bridge work is done the turnarounds will be built permanently.
The turnarounds you're seeing built right now to serve eastbound-to-westbound traffic is a temporary turnaround conceived to ease traffic pressures at the intersection with the one-way roads. We've actually change-ordered this temporary turnaround into the contract Texas Sterling has; their plans never included the turnarounds earlier.

Why is the Thousand Oaks exit off I-35 closed and is this permanent?
- Lucille
It is permanent - and rather than call it "closed" we would call it "moved". We discussed this in a video post earlier, but we moved the exit south a bit to improve the overall operation of the highway out there.

I noticed Asphalt Milling Machines and rollers parked on this of 1604 West bound close to La Cantera. If this for a TxDOT project on 1604 or something else?
- Zane
Nope, that's us! We are resurfacing Loop 1604 (main lanes and frontage roads) between Bandera Road and Rogers Ranch/Bitters Road. Work started back in October and will continue until summer 2018. Expect to see daytime work on the frontage roads. We'll stay off the main lanes during the day, though. Don't expect to see that overnight activity until temperatures heat up, this upcoming spring.

On the SH 16 & 1604 project I see that the base is layers of asphalt. What's the life span for this method? It doesn't seem to work long on normal street traffic.
- Pamela

This is actually pretty standard for us. There are several layers to a roadway. The Express-News did a really interesting story about the Recipe for a Roadway almost two years ago. It's definitely worth a look.
Any roadway is a lot like an onion - there are several layers most of us never see or fully understand. What's more, those layers are not all asphalt - we often mistake other layers as mere digging or blading, when we're really building those additional non-asphalt layers.
Our depths are different than what you see on a city street or in your subdivision - that's important to keep in mind. While many municipal roadways measure their depth in inches, ours are measured in feet. That base of asphalt is at least 18 inches deep and rests atop base layers of a variety of compacted soils.

What is the status of putting the steel beams in place for hwy 151 over 410? I remember a while back it was supposed to occur in November. Now there appears to be no word of it. In fact it seems the hwy 90 work is going faster than 151.
- Steve
The beams should be here in January, and we could be setting beams as soon as February. This falls within the timeframe given back in June.
As for project pace, please do not refer to a single aspect of the projects to make an overall assessment of the progress of projects. Doing so can set yourself up for an unreasonable expectation on both projects.
To be honest, both jobs are on their predetermined pace; the 151-410 project is set to wrap up late summer 2018 as promised when we broke ground. The 410-90 project still has quite a bit of work remaining. While you're seeing steel beams placed, you'll carefully note the frontage work now nearly done on the 151-410 project has a long way to go. You'll also note the bridge work and work on the ramps at Marbach has just begun and has more than a year before that's complete. That sort of work on the 410-151 job has nearly finished.
Hopefully that helps.

Mail Bag: West Military at Lp 1604, I-10 developments, FM 1103 and the New Braunfels Ave Bridge

I live in Rogers Ranch, and we see construction signs posted on Rogers Ranch Parkway for work on the intersection with 1604. Can you tell us what will be done there? We hope it will add turnaround lanes.
- Michael
Michael, we had several of your neighbors reach out on this. Perhaps you've already gotten word ... but if not, please spread the word now.
We've got a simple overlay project going on between Rogers Ranch Pkwy and Bandera Road. That means we'll be shaving off the top 2 inches or so of asphalt and replacing it with a fresh layer of asphalt. Work on the main lanes is overnight only - that stuff won't happen until we get back to warmer temperatures. During the daytime we're allowing the contractor to move forward with the frontage roads.
All told, you'll see us doing this work for the next nine months.
No turnaround lanes are coming ... yet. We do have a future project adding turnarounds, but we're about two years from seeking bids on that one. Sorry it's not sooner.

Just a quick observation on the I-10 east at 1516 frontage road conversion to one-way. Converting the frontage roads to one-way before the 1516 intersection improvements was a horrible idea and potentially more unsafe than two-way. There is lots and lots of traffic from the landfill and other businesses along the southern frontage road between Foster and FM 1516 that now has to travel east to the four-way stop at 1516. This has the frontage road extremely backed up. The exit ramp to 1516 is also backed up onto the highway causing an extremely unsafe condition of waiting to exit on the shoulder with traffic passing inches away at 70-plus miles per hour. It might be a good idea to get started on the 1516 intersection improvements soon!
- Marshall
Turnarounds at FM 1516 and Loop 1604 are not happening until a future project; those are not included in this project. That goes for the traffic signals at FM 1516 as well.
You'll see some improvement when the intersection at Woodlake Parkway is finished in 2018, and Texas Sterling Construction is working to build up the inside halves of the frontage roads so they can also build the new exit and entrance ramps. Both of these will help quite a bit.
Ultimately the decision to fast-track the conversion of frontage roads was made by our area engineer, who felt strongly this would improve safety by eliminating early the two-way frontage roads.

Why does TXDOT San Antonio keep listing Schertz as Selma in your weekly construction-related closures? Confusing.
- Concerned Citizen
We'd like to blame a map that's not incredibly clear on boundaries:

We drove through I-35 over the weekend to verify city limits and checked with our stakeholder lists, and found Selma isn't really involved here. We apologize for the error and any confusion it's brought - we should have verified this long ago. We have adjusted the most recent closures post to reflect the correction.

There have been a lot of crashes along I-10 between Boerne and 1604 since the recent construction projects. Is the traffic behaving as modeled? Should we anticipate further construction progress due to the continued development in the area?
- Rob
Any time a crash happens you can probably bet traffic isn't behaving as modeled.
We're not seeing a statistical spike in crashes along the I-10 corridor right now, but these crashes are typically more dramatic when a project is active.
As for continued development ... yes! We have a few major jobs still on their way over the next five years:

• Conversion of frontage roads to one-way between Fair Oaks Parkway and Balcones Creek
• Construction of a new overpass at Balcones Creek Parkway
• Conversion of frontage roads to one-way between Balcones Creek and Scenic Loop Road
• Conversion of frontage roads to one-way between Scenic Look Road and Hwy 46

Just to give you an idea.


What is going on with Military Drive West? We're currently on "traffic switch" number 2 but there is a new sign advising of a traffic switch on 18-18-17 - I assume that's supposed to be 10-18-17? Does this mean the traffic direction is going back to normal for now or are we going to be going sideways while driving backwards?
- Kim

Apologies for the typo in the digital message board. Those happen from time to time and we do our best to catch the issues quickly.
Where we know and have published several stages of traffic shifts, a generic "traffic switch" message on a board should alert folks to the next phase happening.
More to the point at this location: we will have the left turn lanes opened up in about a month (by time we reached the 18th we had traffic all where it started, except those turn lanes) with fresh striping to keep everyone in their lane. That will only last about 6-8 months, though, as we'll be ready to move traffic over onto the frontage road at that spot summer 2018.

I don't have a question....just a comment! I think you should KEEP the New Braunfels Avenue Bridge the way it is with the wonky arches.....it's one of a kind and a funny story!!!!
- Marci
We're glad you appreciated the story out there and are able to find some humor in it. We're still not going to keep the wonky arches. As we explained in our post the arches will be re-done once the remainder of the bridge is built and we can move traffic away from the edge there.

On the La Cantera Pkwy to Ralph Fair Rd project, I thought the work is only done on the inside lanes. Why are barriers being set on the outside as well? Also what is being done to the drain structure when going westbound right before Ralph Fair Rd light on Leon Creek? I thought that was done during the previous project?
- Danko
Let's start with the building one side and the other thing.
We're building on both sides of the road - first to the inside, then to the outside. In order to make room to fully build the new HOV lanes on the inside of the current main lanes, we're adding some "temporary" pavement to the outside. This will allow us to shift traffic over just a few feet so we can really get going on that inside lane.
As for the drain structure work that seems to be redone, we're not really re-doing any work done by Texas Sterling Construction in the previous project. Here we've got box culverts running under the main lanes of I-10 that need to be extended for the additional width of the highway.

What to expect this summer on I-10 east of town

Summer is here and our contractors are working away on the I-10 project east of town. As construction activity increases this summer drivers can expect one of several Texas-sized project milestones to be completed. Here's a look at what’s to come this summer and where the contractor is with the project.

Brief overview
In case you need a refresher, the $63.8 million project started late 2016 and is expected to wrap up mid-2019. We’ve hired Texas Sterling Construction as the contractor along with CEC as the project management and inspection team. A new bridge at Woodlake Parkway is being constructed and we’re upgrading intersections, adding new signals and reconfiguring the entrance and exit ramps. You can read all the details about the project here. The most significant impact the project will have is the conversion of the frontage roads to one-way between Foster and Graytown roads. Studies indicate a significant reduction in crashes when a two-way access road is converted to one-way frontage roads. Drivers should expect to see construction start on the one-way frontage roads late summer.

Milestones & Construction

Texas Sterling hopes to have the westbound bridge over a new
Woodlake Parkway intersection finished this summer.

Texas Sterling has completed their first milestone by rebuilding the eastbound to westbound turnarounds at Foster Road. Drivers might have noticed the turnaround was widened and reopened a couple of weeks ago. The construction of the new turnaround gives drivers, especially larger trucks, improved access and turning radius. Crews will begin working on the westbound to eastbound turnaround bridge in July.

The contractor is working away on a second milestone: construction of the westbound mainlanes and the Woodlake Parkway overpass. The bridge structure is up and crews are setting beams. The permanent retaining wall is about halfway complete. Crews will begin pouring the bridge deck on June 7th and construction of the other side of the bridge will begin late summer.

Need More Information
Have questions and need some answers? Let us know and we’ll be happy to address any concerns - we want to keep you informed. Wherever you're driving, be safe and drive smart.

Talking the work on I-10 east of town ... and some potholes, too.

The I-10 project on the east end of town is coming along and drivers will continue to see more construction activity in the coming months. We’ve received calls and emails about potholes in front of Denny’s at I-10 and Foster Road and have a few words on that. We also have a rundown of where the contractor is with the project and what’s to come.


Recap
In case you haven’t heard we’re converting the frontage roads to one-way between Foster and Graytown roads. Studies indicate a significant reduction in crashes when a two-way access road is converted to one-way frontage roads. We're also adding a new overpass at Woodlake Parkway, upgrading all the intersections, adding new signals and reconfiguring the entrance and exit ramps to interface with the frontage roads (and improve your access when using them). You can read more details here. The $63.8 million project will wrap up mid-2019. Texas Sterling Construction is the contractor and CEC is the project management and inspection team.


Milestones & Construction
Spring has sprung and south Texas weather has been in our favor so far, which is what we all want to hear. Good weather means ongoing construction. Texas Sterling is about a month into their first major milestone, which rebuilds the eastbound to westbound turnarounds at Foster Road. The construction of the new turnarounds will give drivers overall better access and ability to maneuver along the corridor.
The second milestone constructs the westbound main lanes of the Woodlake Parkway overpass, which is why the traffic lanes shift around the way they do for now. Drivers will see the bridge structure, beams, deck and rail begin going up over the next few months. The man-made hills approaching the Woodlake Parkway bridge will also include the construction of temporary and permanent retaining walls.


Potholes
First off we want to say we appreciate your patience on this issue. We’ve had several inquiries about the potholes located at Denny’s and Foster Road and we have been working to resolve the issue with SAWS and the contractor. It turns out the potholes were due to water leaks, which have since been resolved by SAWS. Pavement repair begins mid-April. Again, we cannot thank you enough for your patience as we work to resolve this.

All that work on I-10 east of town....

So ... there's this project we started back in October that's on I-10 on the east end of town. We had intentions to produce a brief video about the project when it started, but that ended up a project on the back burner. Meanwhile, this project pushed on - and it's moving rather well.

It's about time we posted some info on this (something we'll do much more frequently moving forward).

The big picture

In a nutshell we're converting the frontage roads to one-way between Foster and Graytown roads. We're also adding a new overpass at Woodlake Parkway, upgrading all the intersections (with signals and everything) and reconfiguring the entrance and exit ramps. We've got more details here.

The $63.8 million project will wrap up mid-2019. Texas Sterling Construction is our contractor, and CEC makes up our project management and inspection team.

Since the start

With the exception of a few rainy cold days in January the south Texas winter has been kind and drivers will continue to see more construction activity along the project. Heck, we haven't even lost any time due to weather (a credit to the project team, as this is our slow time of the year for us). To date we've started work on drain structures and we've been working on some asphalt repairs - pretty minor stuff when you look at the grand scheme of what we're doing.

Right now
The contractor’s focus for now is construction of temporary detours to shift main lane traffic (not much - just a small shift; most folks won't really notice a huge difference) later this month. We'll be sure to let folks know when that happens.

For now, expect to see work on the future westbound bridge for the new Woodlake Parkway overpass. Texas Sterling is also working on retaining walls at Foster Road for the turn-around at the bridge there. 

Coming up

The most significant and noticeable construction will be the conversion of the two-way access roads to one-way frontage roads. Studies indicate a significant reduction in crashes when a two-way access road is converted to one-way frontage roads. We're still not at that stage of the project yet, but before we do get there we'll be sure to let folks know with plenty of notice.

Mail Bag: What's happening on I-10 between Foster and Graytown roads?

When are the project for improvements to I-10 between Foster Road and Graytown Road, including the Woodlake Pkwy overpass scheduled to begin? Will the frontage roads be rebuilt before they are converted to one way? How soon will traffic lights be added to the 10/1516 intersection?
- Marshall
Those who don't know what Marshall is talking about can check out our project information page here.

The $65.3 million project was awarded to Texas Sterling Construction earlier this summer, and we've been working out some details in some materials used. See, our pavement engineer has marked this job to conduct a pavement materials experiment that could help us save tens of millions statewide and improve the life of our roadway. We had to make sure the supply of materials needed - geogrid - was available for the project.

We'd like to get started on this project before Halloween (we're still getting our contracts drafted, and a three-month gap between letting and project start is fairly standard). The frontage roads won't be converted to one-way until the third phase of work, which comes once the new overpass at Woodlake Parkway is finished up. Don't expect to see that happen until 2018.

As for the traffic signals at the intersection of I-10 and FM 1516 ... those will be completed near the end of the project, after we've got the frontage roads and intersections reconstructed. (It's called for in Phase V Step 4B, if you're really interested in the detailed timing.)

Concerning the work activity at Hwy 46 and Hwy 281: Before the construction, two lanes were allowed to turn left from westbound Hwy 46 to southbound Hwy 281 (the middle lane could optionally go straight or turn left). Why has this configuration changed to only one left turn lane?
- Tom
Thanks for your note, Tom. You weren't the only one to reach out and ask about this issue. Unfortunately incorrect signs were installed and, for a while, it seemed as though the dual-left option was being removed.

This was corrected 18 August. The current configuration should be: Left lane is left only, middle lane is optional through or left, right lane is through only.

Is there any QA/QC project acceptance done by TxDOT? The firm working the Boerne Stage Rd-Leon Springs project has a lot of rough patches. The only ramp between Ralph Fair and BSR has a big tilt halfway along the length. The new on ramp at Leon Springs going west is the same.
- Matt
Having driven this length ourselves a few times, we're guessing you're talking about the rougher base surface that's now out there when compared to completed ramps and roadway, where things are a bit smoother. This is a common observation on our projects.

See, when we put our contracts together, we require a warranty on the asphalt that's put in. If the asphalt deteriorates under traffic, the contractor is required to replace it at their own cost. Because of this, contractors typically wait until the very end of the project to lay down that final surface of asphalt that's more expensive and tends to wear out a little faster (has to do with the size of the aggregate in the mix).

So what you're driving on is a temporary surface ... well, sort of. It's actually the base layer of asphalt on which we'll lay down the final surface later. That final surface is 1-2 inches thick while the base is 12-18 inches thick.

As for the westbound exit to Ralph Fair ... that ramp is a temporary ramp and will be replaced with a permanent ramp anyway.

So ... yes, we do have quality assurance and project acceptance on every TxDOT project. However, we're not ready to accept the project and are waiting for the project to be complete - which, in this instance, is around the end of the year.

Old Fredericksburg road at Ralph Fair Road is now a very dangerous intersection. Attempting to cross four lanes of traffic here is extremely unsafe at many busy times of the day. While visibility is close to zero many people still attempt the crossing. Even crossing two lanes from Ralph Fair onto Old Fred behind the Valero is difficult. Are any changes planned for this intersection?
- Deb
Part of your issue here is traffic volume, to be perfectly honest. We've seen a five-year low of 7,800 vehicles per day on Ralph Fair, capped by more than 11,000 cars per day in our five-year high. While we do see some flux from year to year, the trend is upward - and the range there is pretty significant.
So, what's the plan for the future? That's a complicated question, though it may not seem like it should be.

The state's responsibility here is Ralph Fair Road, and our plans include expanding that road (which shouldn't really help your specific observation much) in the future. We're working on plans to expand Ralph Fair to four lanes all the way up to Hwy 46 by time we're all done.

We could add a traffic signal at the location, but that would significantly add to the traffic delays folks are experiencing already at the intersection of I-10 and Ralph Fair. Frankly, Old Fred isn't much of a problem except for about four hours each day and a signal at that location would do more harm, overall, than good.

The real solution is providing another way for traffic on Old Fred to reach I-10. That's happening with our I-10 Fair Oaks project, which adds that overpass at Old Fred and I-10. When the intersection there is finished - by early 2018 - you'll see a bunch of that traffic trying to cross Ralph Fair or get through that intersection there dissipate and use the new route.

Is there any info regarding extending Galm Road thru Fm 471 and beyond?
- Gary
Will Alamo Ranch Parkway eventually meet up with the new part of 211 (yet to be built)?
- Carolyn
We're bunching your questions together, Gary and Carolyn, because the answer isn't something we have within TxDOT. Galm Road and Alamo Ranch Parkway are both county roads, not state roads. Their development is all handled by Bexar County Public Works (sort of).

In the case of ARP, that's being done by private developers as the Alamo Ranch area continues to expand.

That said, Galm Road isn't slated to extend any further than it is now, but Talley Road and Old 471 are set for some upgrades. That info is here. Carolyn, you'll also find at that link information on the extension of Hwy 211 so private developers can connect ARP with Hwy 211 at some point in the future.

I saw they said West Avenue would be closed by Wurzbach Parkway beginning September 12 through March of 2017. Any idea how far along that closure is?
Is it just from Wurzbach to Nakoma or is it farther than that?
- Robert

Great question, Robert. Unfortunately, we're not the agency running that project. Give the city a call - their TCI group is heading up that work.