Project updates - Comal County

I-35 Selma

This project wrapped up about a week ago, and all that's left is paperwork and what we call a "punch list". For the purposes of those routinely driving through the area, the project is complete and finished. We're glad to have that extra lane on I-35 between FM 3009 and Loop 1604; it seems to be doing its job thus far!

Loop 337

Hunter Industries has removed some of the overhang materials from the overpass and their electrical subcontractor is nearly finished with the new signal poles at I-35 and Rueckle Road. That means most of the work on the bridge itself - we removed a bridge rail and a center median - is wrapping up. We have plenty of paving work left to do, though, with an entire half of a roadway left to be built.

That road work should begin in the next week or two, with traffic shifting over onto the new asphalt to allow the room to do what needs to be done.

Right now we're on pace to finish up by Halloween - roughly three months ahead of schedule.

Seguin Avenue

Next week - August 27 - we will join the city of New Braunfels and the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce to christen the newly completed underpass expansion on Seguin Avenue.

This is a project that's taken nearly 30 years to complete. Most of that time was spent planning and coordinating between agencies, and just under two years was spent in actual construction. The old underpass, built in the 1930s under the Works Progress Administration plan to fund road projects in order to provide local jobs to those struggling through the Great Depression, was just two lanes wide. Growth over the last 70 years has made the expansion of the underpass a must, and local leaders saw the need as early as the 1980s.

In an ironic twist of fate, the same company contracted to build the original underpass in 1935 was hired to construct the new one. Austin Bridge Company preserved the stone that made up the hand-set retaining walls in order to use that stone as a facade on the new retaining walls, keeping the historic feel of the original project.

In addition to the historic feel, the new underpass features four lanes, a drastically improved drain structure and sidewalks for folks traveling by foot or by bicycle. All features were opened up earlier this month.

U.S. Highway 281

Comal County roundup

It's been a few weeks since we've looked at the projects in and around Comal County ... time to get everyone updated and up-to-speed. We'll try to keep things to the point....

I-35 Selma

This project is winding down, and should be complete - totally complete - by the end of July. Representatives of Dan Williams Company have indicated they'll have crews working on the turnarounds at FM 3009 over the next two weeks and hope to have it in play by mid-July. Right now their focus is squarely on the main lanes of I-35, which are being resurfaced and striped with overnight work.

The turnaround at FM 1518 also remains, but should be built along with the turnaround at FM 3009.

Questions have abounded about the timing on this project. We are examining the impacts of events beyond the control of the contractor (including design issues and weather-related delays), and may credit that time to the contractor as appropriate. Given the circumstances, TxDOT engineers doing these reviews indicate they may conclude the contractor was able to successfully perform the work within the allotted time (adjusted for these delays).

That's a round-about, technical way of saying the project is still running on time.

Loop 337

Mark your calendars for July 7. It's that date that Hunter Industries has set aside to close the driveway for the truck stop on Loop 337 so they can rebuild the road in that area. The closure should last only a few short weeks, and when that work is done the contractor plans to move traffic onto the new asphalt. The current asphalt will be torn up to allow the road to be rebuilt.

All told, Hunter is aiming at having the road reconstruction finished somewhere around the end of August or early September. If that happens, the whole project (which expands the overpass bridge at Loop 337 and I-35 to handle the added capacity brought, in part, by the truck stop) could be done as early as October. That would be at least three months earlier than anticipated.

There are factors that could knock that goal back a bit, but for right now that's the target.

Seguin Avenue

The rock face facade on the retaining walls has taken a little longer than anticipated. Austin Bridge Company hoped to be finished with the project last week, but they are looking now at being done by the end of July. That's not just an optimistic aim, either. With most of the infrastructure finished up - as well as the last pieces of the retaining wall facade being put in place - all that will remain by the end of next week is a final layer of asphalt and pavement markings. Well, that and a few other adjustments.

Bottom line: this project will be complete by the end of July.

FM 306

Most are well aware of the overpasses at the two railroad crossings. Hunter Industries has also tweaked the traffic signals at Common Street, optimizing traffic flow.

We're dealing with some conflicts with AT&T in the area still, and that's slowing the pace a bit. Even still, the folks at Hunter are aiming for early 2015 to be finished with everything. That still looks extremely doable.

FM 1101

This project was just awarded to Hunter Industries, and expands FM 1101 between Hwy 46 and the extension of FM 306 on the north side of New Braunfels.

We're aiming at early fall to begin work. This will go through two - two - school zones, so folks commuting to those schools should be aware of changing conditions as we begin work.

U.S. 281 Comal

The biggest question here is how we're going to get around the U.S. Post Office in Spring Branch. Once that question is answered, the project will be able to wrap up pretty quickly. In fact, we're eyeing a completion date of this fall - something like nine months earlier than we had planned at the start of the project.

That said, we still need to figure out the Post Office issue. We've got a couple of ideas on the table, but we need to iron out the costs associated with these plans. We're doing so with the constant reminder these solutions are temporary. When the USPS is able to vacate the building, we'll go back and finish the job as it was originally planned.

U.S. 281 and Hwy 46

Those out in Bulverde know of the barricades we've got in place for a project that adds turnarounds on U.S. 281 at Hwy 46. CRG - that's the name of the contractor - has halted work for a while because they're trying to renegotiate the way the project is constructed. We're doing our best to work with them and get them working as quickly as possible.

Because work could resume any day now, we can't remove the barricades that were put in place and restripe the roadway. That would cost us quite a bit of money, and could have to be undone in a simple matter of days. We know it's frustrating to see the barricades without much going on, but for now we're a bit stuck.

Walnut Avenue

Back to New Braunfels for a moment....

The Walnut Avenue job is still in the middle of a 180-day delay to allow for utilities to be adjusted. We're aiming right now at getting work going early 2015. Between now and then, folks may see utilities crews out there adjusting lines as appropriate. At least, we hope that's seen by folks.

I-35 at FM 306

Another new project to be awarded is a project that will realign the exit and entrance ramps along I-35 between FM 306 and Conrads/Kohlenberg north of New Braunfels. This project has been awarded to The Dan Williams Company, and is slated to begin (most likely) early 2015. We've got a bit of a delay built into the project for utility adjustments. The project is pretty straight-forward, and should take less than a year to construct.

I-35 Selma project update

No project currently active in the San Antonio district elicits more inquiries right now than does the improvement of I-35 between Loop 1604 and FM 3009. The project is in its 20th month of activity and is winding down to total completion.

Posts on the project earlier this year promised the project would be finished "by the end of the school year". At the time those declarations were made, that was indeed the target. Well, the school year has ended ... and work continues.

Complications with equipment and resources, coupled with questions regarding the design of the center median barrier near Cibolo Creek, have pushed our overall completion back a little more than a month beyond what was expected.

So ... what's being done and what is left to do? Let's break it down area-by-area....

Exit and entrance ramps

The northbound exit ramp to Olympia Parkway was the last exit to be finished up, and was completed in the last week or so. As for other ramps on the project....

The ramps between FM 1518 and Schertz Parkway have long been adjusted for efficiency. The northbound dual-lane exit to FM 3009 is finished. The northbound exit to Forum Parkway - the braided ramp running over the ramps from Loop 1604 onto northbound I-35 - is finished, as are the ramps from Loop 1604 running underneath.

Main lane resurfacing

This was a particular portion of the project that needed to be done in order to help with the glare issue we had on the lane striping. Daily commuters will be familiar with the way the sun hit some of the old and new striping at certain times of the day. This glare led to some confusion about actual lane alignments from time to time. We tried a number of solutions to the issue, but ultimately it's the resurfacing work that provides the real fix.

With the main lanes resurfaced - which is being finished up right now, and will last through next week - the new lane striping will clearly delineate the lanes at all times of the day.

So, what kept us from doing this sooner? The center median barrier. We needed to have that finished before we could lay the final surface of asphalt, and we ran into a few snags in the process of finishing that last stretch of barrier near Cibolo Creek. Now the barrier is done, we're in business and finishing up.

Frontage road resurfacing

We're all done with this! In fact, crews have recently removed all of our portable barrier and traffic is flowing freely.

Turnarounds

Ah, the turnarounds. We have four turnarounds on this project. The first was on Loop 1604 at Lookout Road, and it's been done for about a year. We have a south-to-north turnaround at FM 1518, and we have two turnarounds at FM 3009.

Well, the north-to-south turnaround at FM 3009 was finished and put into use earlier this year. The thought at the time was the contractor would then be able to focus on the south-to-north turnaround, but the concrete crews involved with that work were needed elsewhere.

With little else remaining to complete, crews are now working on the remaining turnaround at FM 3009, and some are also working on the turnaround at FM 1518. The contractor's remaining crews are dedicated to these areas, and we expect them to wrap up in July.

Sidewalks on deck for I-35 Selma job

Next week crews will close one of the two northbound exit lanes to FM 3009 to build the curbs and sidewalks along the northbound frontage road between Schertz Parkway and FM 3009. This work, and it's associated closure, will last about a week.

The final asphalt surface has been placed along the northbound lanes here, approaching Schertz Parkway, but final pavement markings are yet to come. That will likely be the very last thing to finish on the project. 

Project supervisors are waiting in a redesign for small segments of the center median barrier where new overhead highway sign bridges are to be mounted. Once the redesign is in place we'll see overnight closures flare up en masse again while crews build the walls and sign support structures. That work is planned to be done overnight and supervisors expect to begin work on that task the first part of May.

This section of the main lanes, between Cibolo Creek and Loop 1604, has yet to be repaved. That will happen after the center median barrier is completed.

Beyond that, paving work is the most visible remaining work on the project. The FM 3009 overpass, the FM 3009 south-to-north turnaround, the main lanes (north and south) between Cibolo Creek bridge to Judson Road, the Olympia Parkway overpass and approaches and the  turnaround at FM 1518. Most - almost all of it, really - will be done during nighttime hours to avoid more significant impacts to traffic. However, with temperatures struggling to stay above 60 degrees overnight, supervisors are looking for out-of-the box ways to progress work.

Work on the south-to-north turnaround at FM 3009 continues; Dan Williams Company expects to have this turnaround opened by the start of June.

With the work remaining on the south-to-north turnaround at FM 3009, current projections have the turnaround opening the first part of June. Overall project completion is still on target for the start of July - in time for the heavy summer traffic.

I-35 Selma nearing completion

The next shoe to drop on the I-35 Selma project is the south-to-north turnaround at FM 1518, which could open up as early as April 18. Crews are working on curbs and sidewalks now, with asphalt scheduled to arrive next week. With asphalt and striping in place, the turnaround should be ready to open up.

Concrete crews are busily getting the south-to-north turnaround at FM 1518 ready for use.

The turnaround at FM 3009 has a bit more left to do before it's ready to open; the concrete islands at the intersection are finished now, but some repairs are needed and the concrete pads surrounding the structure need finished. A full crew has been dedicated to the work for the last several weeks, and project bosses hope to have the turnaround open by early May.

A full crew has been dedicated to the remaining turnaround at FM 3009 for the last several weeks. This crew will continue to work on the structure, and hope to have it opened by mid-May.

The lingering major tasks, then, are at the northbound exit to Olympia Parkway (while one lane is active and open, widening work remains), some concrete median barrier (an issue with steel reinforcement bars have delayed that work a few weeks) and the final layer of asphalt on all main lanes between the Cibolo Creek bridge and Loop 1604.

The right lane of the northbound Olympia Parkway exit ramp is open; work continues on the left exit lane. When this work is done, we'll have two lanes exiting to Olympia Parkway.

Project managers with Dan Williams Co. are still hopeful to have the whole project finished and done around the end of the school year.

Little of this, little of that....

Apologies for the dearth of posts over the last week. Fair warning: next week will be similarly sparse. There's a single contributor to these posts, and he was out of the office much of this week and will likewise be out next week.

In that vein, Happy Opening Day, everyone! Well, an early wish, anyway.

But you came here to read about roads, not baseball. With that, here's a brief run-down on the latest concerning our most major projects:

I-10 Huebner

Concerted efforts continue to finish retaining walls along the expanded edges of main lanes between UTSA Boulevard and Huebner Road. This will allow the contractor to build the wider roadway and shift traffic for the upcoming milestone at the DeZavala overpass bridge. That's also why we're knocking out the center median barrier near DeZavala; to facilitate the shift.

When we reach the milestone (no specific date has been set yet) we'll shift traffic over to one side of the bridge, leaving the other side free for work. This shift will last six months, then we'll shift over to the other side to finish the work. All told, expect traffic to be squeezed onto one side or the other of that bridge for a total of about one year.

Only regular nightime closures and the occasional daytime frontage road closures we've had the last several weeks are disrupting traffic today.

Ralph Fair Road bridge

The project that will widen the Ralph Fair Road bridge has begun. No major closures yet; just be aware the area is an active construction zone and we'll have constantly changing landscape for the next year and a half.

Most of the work for the next couple of weeks will involve some simple excavation and some culvert work.

Main Street Boerne

We're hoping to get the Cibolo Creek bridge finished on Main Street (U.S. Hwy 87) in Boerne soon. Relmco Construction has been on that project, and they're planning to close the bridge overnight a few nights in April - April 8 and 9, to be exact - to finish the bridge deck surface. Ths should be near the last work we've got left on this project, and we should be clear of the area by the end of April.

Hwy 39 Ingram

Another Relmco project, we're now about two full months into the second phase of expanding Hwy 39 through Ingram. We're working on some of the more difficult portions of the underground drain system, which is often about 12 feet deep with large structures. A lot of this is slow-going work, particularly with the abundance of rain we've had in the region lately. As we continue through this big, deep stuff, folks will start seeing more of the fruits of our work as the culverts and retaining walls are more visible.

With the widening on the south side of the Johnson Creek Bridge continuing, we should have all the "bones" of the bridge in place by the end of April. That will allow the full expansion of the bridge before summer, with sidewalks on the bridge reopening soon after.

Hwy 281 Comal

The Spring Branch project, worked by Hunter Industries, continues to move at a near unparalleled pace. Hunter says they'll be ready to move traffic onto the remaining southbound lanes - through the old Gass property, just south of Jumbo Evans Park - near the first part of April. This will be much like the earlier switch onto the southbound lanes, near FM 306, with traffic still limited to a single lane in each direction.

On the northbound side, Hunter is hoping to have everything ready to open by July Fourth, when final paving surfaces will be placed.

As for the Post Office, we're actually building around the building rather than hold up the job to build through it as the plans call for. That detour, the little "bubble route" (this is Texas, right? Football terms should work...), will go to the west side of the Post Office. Later, once the right-of-way issues are resolved, the building will be removed and the road will be placed in its intended path.

FM 306

Somewhere around the second week of April, Hunter Industries is hoping to move traffic between Goodwin Lane and I-35 onto the future outside lanes and open up the middle area for work. This is similar to the traffic switch that happened a month or so ago between Common Street and Hunter Lane.

We're still operating with the goal of having both railroad overpasses open and rolling in time for Memorial Day weekend. We should also have the road widened between Goodwin and I-35, providing some extra space for traffic headed to the businesses along that stretch.

Seguin Avenue

Not much more to report here than we're still pushing forward, preparing to open the underpass by April 15. When we open it, we'll only have one lane in each direction open at first; we've still got some work left to do, and will be moving forward on that work as we prepare to be done and out of the way completely by summertime.

I-35 Selma

Those who've driven through the area have noticed Dan Williams Co. have opened everything up - and by everything, I mean all the exit and entrance ramps - between FM 3009 and Loop 1604. Most of the pavement is in place for the widening. Right now resources are being allocated to finish the south-to-north turnarounds at FM 3009 and at FM 1518. We hope to have them functional and open by mid-April.

Once that's done, we'll see the project get final surfaces of asphalt where it's still needed. Then we'll restripe the roadway where needed, and have the extra lane open in each direction. We're still on pace to be out of the way, as promised, by the end of the school year.

I-35 SAMMC

Lane Construction is working hard on portions of the north end, near Windcrest, while maintaining good pace on the south end of the project. Their hope is that, come 2015, we'll be working primarily on the south side of the project (closer to SAMMC) and on the new connector ramp from I-35 to southbound I-410.

Routine overnight closures are still running, but we'll be limiting closures through April for Fiesta. That shouldn't bog down much of this project; there's a lot to do outside the current travel lanes.

I-10 east San Antonio

This is that segment of I-10 near New Braunfels Ave. that's been on hold the last six months. We're back underway, and the contractor should be constructing the "detour" area (an asphalt area onto which we'll switch traffic to create a work zone) over the next few weeks. Expect to see a lot more activity and, by the end of April, a traffic switch. That shouldn't impact traffic more than it's already been impacted. The overall project - an effort to create room between the main lanes and overpass bridges in the area - will finish by fall 2015.

Wurzbach Parkway

The biggest news on this is that the Blanco Road overpass bridge should be opened up and ready for use by next weekend. We had crews scheduled to pave the bridge deck surface earlier this week, but that work was washed out by the rain that blew through the region.

The remaining work should take just 4-5 working days, if weather permits. Crews are scheduled to start that work early next week, and we should finally be able to put that western segment of the Parkway to rest.

I-35 Selma updates....

Earlier this week crews with Dan Williams Construction opened the southbound exit ramp to Olympia Parkway - and the entrance ramp from Retama Park - as they finished the concrete work in the area and the paving work completed.

By the way, that's a full week ahead of schedule.

Work on the southbound frontage road between FM 1518 and Forum Parkway isn't totally finished yet, though. Pavers were working in the area earlier today, and will continue through the week.

On the northbound side, the exit ramp to FM 1518 remains closed - for now. Pavers are making their way through the area and still need to work on the shoulder area of the main lanes. Overnight closures are already planned to pick up the barrier in the next week or so, which should allow the exit to reopen.

The folks running the job say the top priority for now is to get the remaining ramp work finished. Concrete crews are expected to return FM 3009 the first part of April to work on the south-to-north turnaround. The remaining work at that intersection will become the new priority when ramps are all reopened and frontage road paving is complete between FM 1518 and Loop 1604.

The rpoject is on pace to complete on time - by the end of the schoolyear.

A backlog of blogs....

Apologies for failing to log an update last week. Several partial posts were written and left unpublished. Here are the finished versions:

I-35 SAMMC

The big highlight for now is concrete; Lane Construction is pourin all sorts of concrete through the project. Most of the work is on bridge support structures, including columns and column caps that will hold a new bridge to Thousand Oaks from the northbound I-35 frontage road.

The work at Thousand Oaks requires closures on the frontage road and the main lanes Saturday between 5 a.m. and noon to remove the side barrier of some existing structure. The contractor is pushing hard to finish the work in this Thousand Oaks/Windcrest area quickly to allow a concentration of work late in the project in the SAMMC/Rittiman Road area. We're still several months from finishing up on that northern piece, but that's the plan.

So much for the north end of the job. On the south end, the George Beach exit ramp (southbound side) is noticeably unchanged. We're planning to close the current exit and open a temporary exit much closer to George Beach. Well, we had an equipment issue involving the lighting of the planned temporary ramp a bit more than a week ago, causing project supervisors to delay the change. The electrical contractor is working on a fix, and we're waiting on a few administrative answers to determine the viability of proposed solutions. At the moment, we don't have a scheduled date for the switch, but we do know that switch will be on a Sunday night.

Just a friendly reminder the speed limit on I-35 between Georgetown and Thousand Oaks is 55 miles per hour. It's also a work zone, which means traffic fines double.

Column caps are set to be poured for the future bridge to southbound I-410. Several bridge support structures are planned in this area and most are still to be built; still, these structures are being built well ahead of schedule.

Forms are set to build another column cap on the left, like the one on top of the columns at right. Project bosses hope to set beams this summer across northbound I-35 to build this ramp to southbound I-410 near SAMMC.

And that brings us to the big, overarching takeaway for this project: we're four months into a three-year job and we're running just a bit ahead of schedule. Keeping that pace may be tough in April, though, as we're limiting lane closures for Fiesta.

I-35 Selma

If near SAMMC the focus is on concrete, in the Selma-Schertz area the focus is on asphalt. Paving crews have been working on portions of the frontage roads being widened between FM 1518 and Forum Parkway for two weeks at this point, and the work continues. Wrapped in that paving work is the expansion of the northbound Olympia Parkway exit and the completion of the southbound Forum Parkway/Olympia Parkway exit. The northbound ramp remains open for this work, the southbound ramp is closed and will reopen later this month.

This work will mean continued alternating closures on the frontage road - particularly on the southbound side near Evans Road, where crews are rebuilding that southbound exit ramp to Olympia and Forum parkways.

A lot of people ask when the overall completion for this project is coming; work has been ongoing for about a year and a half at this point (the official start date is October 2012). Crews are still on pace for completion by the end of the school year, as promised when the project started.

U.S. 281 Comal

This project is best summed up with the following videos. By the way; this is a project that was initially expected to take more than two years; we're less than a year into work and nearly complete. Credit Hunter Industries for their hard work.

Southbound:

 Northbound:

FM 306

Over the last two weeks a number of people have asked about lane closures announced via our digital message trailers. (Those things are actually called PCMBs, or Portable Changeable Message Boards, but we can call them whatever we want here....)

Well, here's the skinny (and I apologize for the delay):

The road will be totally closed at Goodwin Lane to allow bridge builders to pour concrete to form the bridge deck. We initially thought this concrete pour could happen without any road closures, then Hunter Industries checked out the lay of overhead power lines. With the power lines so nearby, cranes won't have an ability for extra movement - needed extra movement - from up on top of the bridge structures already built. To fix that, we're going to put the crane on the roadway itself. That means traffic on the roadway is a no-go.

FM 306 will close at Goodwin while a crane sets up here to pour concrete on the bridge deck.

The good news is this closure will be both brief and overnight. We had it scheduled Monday night into Tuesday, but it will now happen Wednesday night into Thursday, midnight until 4 a.m.

The second closure is to set beams at the Hunter Road railroad pass. Bridge support beams mark a major step closer to having that bridge built. The road will be closed from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. Thursday night into Friday morning. Those driving through will follow FM 1102 and Hoffman Road to get around the work.

Crews will hang beams on these support structures Thursday night.

Again, the closures are:
Wednesday night/Thursday morning, March 12-13; midnight until 4 a.m., at Goodwin Lane.
Thursday night/Friday morning, March 13-14; 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., at Hunter Road.

Hunter is still working with the goal to have both bridges in use by Memorial Day and in time for the summer months.

Seguin Avenue

A week and a half ago, masons took a crack at setting some of the old stone along the new retaining wall - creating a facade meant to retain the historic look the UPRR crossing had from its original construction in the 1930s. The test area looks pretty darned good, and masons will continue their work once the remaining bridge work is complete and the area is ready for the dressing.

Masons set stone along a test portion of the retaining wall along Seguin Avenue; they will continue to set stone once the work on the railroad bridge is complete.

As for the railroad overpass there, the bridge beams are in place - they were set a bit more than a week ago. Crews continue to assemble the bridge structure, and hope to have UPRR crews ready to move the tracks from the shoo-fly detour to the permanent bridge in the next week or so (if possible). This would allow for the shoo-fly to be taken down and the road under the railroad bridge to be built.

Project bosses are eying mid-April to open the road up to a single lane in each direction; they hope to have all work finished and be entirely out of the way in time for summer.

I-10 Ralph Fair Road

If this one doesn't seem immediately familiar, it's because the work hasn't yet begun. It will, though - in the next two weeks. Traffic impacts will happen almost immediately, as we set up the work area to replace (and upgrade) the FM 3351 bridge over I-10. We're also converting some of the frontage roads to one-way roads, a start to a two-plus year effort to convert all frontage roads on I-10 between Ralph Fair Road and Loop 1604 to one-way (some are already converted).

The contractor on the project, Sundt, is one of the largest in the nation. They've already found some cost savings in the contract and have helped by giving some $400,000 of the contracted price back to the state.

Updates on Fred-Med, I-10 Huebner and Wurzbach will be posted later this week.

Southbound route to SAMMC to change (and other I-35 items)

SAMMC-area work

Next week - Friday morning, to be precise - the southbound I-35 exit to George Beach will be moved.

I bet right about now you're scratching your head, wondering how that will happen overnight....

A temporary ramp is being constructed, and it's a lot closer to George Beach than the current one is. In fact, the temporary ramp dumps traffic onto the frontage road right about at Petroleum Drive (a small, seldom-used road that once served as an additional entryway to Fort Sam Houston). When that ramp is opened Thursday night (Feb. 27), the current exit ramp to George Beach will close. Crews will begin turning that exit ramp into an entrance ramp from Rittiman Road. (I'm working on a graphic ... Hope to have it up Friday.)

Here's the rub: as it is, rush-hour traffic headed into SAMMC stacks up onto the main lanes while waiting to get into the gate of the base. With less frontage road to hold that traffic, that queue will likely stack up even more. We're advising people to use other gates to get into Fort Sam (where possible) or exit Rittiman and move through the signal there.

Whatever your route, you'll need to add a few minutes to your daily commute.

Olympia Parkway

Work continues in the northbound exit ramp to Olympia Parkway (we're adding an exit lane there), and (for the time being) it's carrying double the load while being rebuilt. The exit to FM 1518 remains closed to allow widening work to progress, pushing traffic headed to the FM road onto the Frontage road sooner by way of the Olympia Parkway ramp. The ramp for FM 1518 is on pace to reopen by April 1 (no Foolin'!).

The southbound side is nearing a change, though. Those who've been following know crews worked a ton of overtime to have the exit open - and all roads open to The Forum - by doing some temporary work. This includes placing temporary concrete barriers and leaving undone some asphalt work. Those temporary measures will be removed for the permanent solutions starting March 2.

This means the southbound exit to Olympia Parkway will close until the ramp is finished; project supervisors anticipate less three weeks. Traffic will exit FM 1518 to reach Olympia Parkway and Forum Parkway.

Widening

Road-builders are still working to add width to the main lanes and frontage roads, particularly between FM 1518 and Forum Parkway. This requires continued closures on the access roads, both directions, as paving operations and large trucks do what they need to do. Frontage roads are limited to a single lane during this work.

Crews are also working in what has been the shoulder area of the main lanes,  adding the space to make room for the extra lane of traffic being added. We hope to have most of this widening work done somewhere around Spring Break.

I-35 SAMMC, I-35 Selma projects plugging along

The intent today was to post a video of the I-35 SAMMC project, showing the detour route on the northbound I-410 connector to northboung I-35 ... but the camera doesn't want to work, so that didn't happen. That also means there's no available up-to-date pictures of the project (nor are there any of the I-35 Selma project), so we'll have to stick with the good, old-fashioned art of writing....

I-35 Selma

Paving crews are working on specific locations on Loop 1604 (between Pat Booker Road and Lookout Road), working in the shoulders and generally leaving travel lanes alone. That's going to change Tuesday, Feb. 4, when crews repave the frontage road from about the IHOP restaurant to the Red Robin restaurant.

For that work the frontage road will close for the full day - project managers responsible for the paving are saying it will take a full 10-hour shift to accomplish - and traffic will be diverted onto the Loop 1604 entrance ramp. Drivers looking to get to stores at The Forum at Olympia Parkway may still enter the shopping center at the IHOP.

Meanwhile, the general contractor is keeping his focus on the exit and entrance ramps he's working on. This includes the northbound exit ramp to FM 1518, which is closed right now and targeted to be reopened in March. Traffic headed to FM 1518 has been using the Olympia Parkway exit and doesn't need to pass through traffic signals to reach its destination.

Other ramps impacted by work are the northbound exit to Olympia Parkway, which remains open while crews work in the shoulder area. One lane of the northbound I-35 frontage road is closed for this work, which is adding a lane to the exit ramp. The other ramp being worked on is the southbound entrance ramp from Evans Road. That entrance ramp is closed, but traffic is able to enter the southbound main lanes of I-35 before reaching Forum Parkway and without going through additional intersections.

Once these three ramps are finished, crews are expected to move to the remaining priorities on the project - including the south-to-north turnaround at FM 3009 and sidewalks. Meanwhile, concrete crews are staying busy building concrete traffic barrier at a handful of locations along the project.

I-35 SAMMC

The first thing to know about this project - and, really, the most important thing to know - is the posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour. TxDOT staff driving the area set cruise control at 55 MPH and watch cars blow by at rates of speed higher than 70 MPH.

Again: The posted speed limit from Randolph Boulevard to George Beach is 55 miles per hour. San Antonio Police Department and other law enforcement agencies are routinely patroling the area, and they will let you know the speed limit has dropped. That message may cost you some money; this message is free. Decide now which one you'd rather pay attention to....

That's not the only change to traffic in the area. The speed limit change is "old news" ... we announced that back in mid-November. More recently we've put in place a "detour" route on the northbound I-410 connector to northbound I-35.

The connector feels a lot more like a main lane, really, because it stays at ground level. It doesn't bridge over much of anything; it is, however, just a single lane. It always has been, in fact. In that respect, we haven't changed anything about what traffic experiences out there. We still have a single lane connecting northbound I-410 to northbound I-35.

However, we closed the entrance ramp near Greatfare Road. It's the ramp that captures traffic from Binz-Engelman and the industrial facilities in the area. The traffic load on the ramp is relatively minor - mostly truck traffic during off-peak hours - but the elimination of the ramp has, for now, made a huge difference in the efficiency of traffic flow. We'll call it addition by subtraction for the time being.

Beyond that, we've got excavators preparing to expand the southbound main lanes at Rittiman Road; we've got crews building up the support structures for the future connector from southbound I-35 onto southbound I-410; we've got crews clearing the way and building support structures for ramp improvements near Randolph Boulevard. At this point the work is moving on pace to finish the project as projected at the end of 2016.

For now, though, TxDOT staff on the project and the workers building the road have one united plea for drivers: Please slow down and drive more carefully.

This means putting away the cell phones and paying attention to what's happening. We've had a number of crashes in the area - almost all due to the speed of drunk or unattentive drivers - that could easily have become extremely tragic. In one case, a car was discovered crashed into some steel bars crews work with daily. Those steel bars were some 50-60 feet away from the roadway, which was a 45 MPH curved ramp. The driver would have had to be traveling at an extreme rate of speed or would have had to deliberately try to hit the rebar in order to accomplish what was done.

The scariest part of that? Had the crash not happened during the very early hours of morning - had the crash occurred during regular working hours - no fewer than two workers would have likely been hit by the car.

Please remember: these work zones are our office. We have the same desire everyone else holds to return to our families safely each day after work. Please help us accomplish that goal by slowing down and paying close attention. Don't tolerate drunk driving, and don't allow anyone to text while driving.

Ramps are the name of the game on I-35 Selma, I-35 SAMMC

The biggest news on I-35 is that the northbound exit to FM 3009 was opened more than a week ahead of schedule.

Crews working for Dan Williams Construction opened the finished exit ramp (we added a lane to the ramp) overnight January 22-23. The ramp was closed less than two weeks ago for reconstruction. The contract allowed DWCo to keep the ramp closed as much as three weeks for the work; that deadline was shattered and the contractor will earn the maximum incentive of about $5,000 per day for five working days for reaching the milestone.

The new northbound exit to FM 3009 adds a lane to the frontage road, giving drivers a little more room to situate themselves as they approach the busy intersection. The new entrance ramp from Schertz Parkway, shown here, also reopened.

The northbound entrance ramp from Schertz Parkway was also reopened. But as one ramp opens another is closed. The northbound exit to FM 1518 was closed, and will not reopen until early spring while crews widen the ramp and add some barrier. The ramp will remain with a single lane, but the ramp is being given some extra room to improve safety for those driving the area.

With the completion of the milestone, Dan Williams' project supervisors are shifting their focus onto the entrance and exit ramps remaining on the project. In addition to the exit ramp to FM 1518, crews are working on retaining walls and barriers for the southbound entrance ramp near Retama Park.

The northbound exit to FM 1518 will remain closed about a month while crews widen and improve the ramp.

The northbound exit to Olympia Parkway is getting an additional lane as well, though crews are committed to keeping it open as long as they can. The current plan involves an overnight closure to tie the work they're doing now to the existing ramp; that closure isn't planned until at least March.

Just as ramps are the focus of work for the DWCo crews on the I-35 Selma project, Lane Construction crews on I-35 SAMMC are spending the majority of their efforts on ramps. Some of this work has a daily impact on traffic, and planned changes over the weekend will impact Monday morning's commute.

As of this morning, crews are working on:

• A temporary exit ramp from southbound I-35 to George Beach
• A temporary entrance ramp from Rittiman to southbound I-35
• The support structures for the future connector from southbound I-35 to southbound I-410 (this is the biggest change with this project; the left-side ramp will be moved to the right side of the road when work is finished)
• The foundation for the northbound frontage road exit to Thousand Oaks.

 

Work near the future Thousand Oaks ramp is well underway.

Sunday night Lane is switching traffic on northbound I-410 to a detour; really, traffic will be shifted over a bit and squeezed as it connects with I-35 just north of SAMMC.  We've got some major closures scheduled through the weekend (see last week's lane closures post), but expect to be out of the way by Monday morning. Still, folks driving through the area may want to add 5-10 minutes to their commute to ensure they reach their destinations on time.

The support structures for the new connector from southbound I-35 to southbound I-410 are quickly going up.

We have also closed the existing entrance ramp near Greatfare Road, which serves traffic coming from the turnaround at the railroad crossing. Most of the traffic in the area is industrial, so it won't impact a large volume of traffic; but those affected will need to go through Rittiman Road before entering the highway.

Northbound exit to FM 3009 to close Sunday

Sunday night Dan Williams Co. will close the northbound I-35 exit to FM 3009 in to rebuild the exit ramps and finish work on the northbound frontage road.

The northbound entrance ramp from Schertz Parkway will also close. The ramps will be reopened in time for the morning commute Monday, Feb. 3. Traffic headed to FM 3009 will use the Schertz Parkway exit and follow the frontage road. Traffic from Schertz Parkway will go through the intersection of FM 3009 to reach northbound I-35.

Crews are rebuilding the exit to better align with the new entrance ramp from FM 1518. An additional lane will be added to the exit.

The closure is tied to a milestone allowing the contractor just three weeks to finish work while rewarding efforts to reopen the ramp early. Project supervisors have indicated they’re targeting the maximum incentives. Cold temperatures could impact some of the work as crews lay asphalt or pour concrete, but the polar vortex moving out of the area project supervisors are confident temperatures will remain warm enough to complete the work without delay.

This closure represents the second major milestone on the project. The first major milestone was the construction of the braided exit ramp on northbound I-35 to Forum Parkway, serving the major shopping center of the metro area’s northeast side. That work was completed in November.

Work the week of Christmas

Only a handful of projects - and none that impact active travel lanes of TxDOT roadways - will be active through the next week and a half.

In fact, most of our contractors are asking for the entire week off due to Christmas and the accompanying busy traffic in the area (not to mention their own desire to spend the time with family). Those requests have been granted.

So you know where to expect seeing work around the area, here's a look at what each major project should look like between today and New Year's (keep in mind there will be no lane closures next week):

I-10 Huebner
While crews will be off the project Dec. 24-26, expect some light activity Monday and Friday. Heavy work will begin again the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4.

I-35 Selma
Most of the project will be quiet for at least the next week, but activity will be back in full swing after New Year's. Any activity you see between this weekend and New Year's will be pretty light. Remember - the intersection at FM 3009 will be opened up to allow heavier traffic flows TODAY!

I-35 SAMMC
This is a project that will continue a bit next week. Expect a quiet workzone Dec. 24-26, but otherwise we should see activity throughout. Nothing will impact travel lanes, meaning no lane closures, but we'll be out there working.

Loop 1604 Marbach
Again, expect things to be pretty quiet next week, but around New Year's work will begin pushing hard again.

Fred-Med
The contractor will be off Dec. 23-Jan. 1. This project has a six-day workweek, so when we get back to work on Jan. 2 we'll be back to working on Saturdays as well.

Wurzbach Parkway
Expect activity between Blanco Road and West Avenue Monday, and perhaps Tuesday morning as well. We are planning to open the Parkway between Blanco and West Avenue Monday. We don't anticipate a ton of activity on the eastern segment those dates, but we do anticipate heavy activity on the center segment every day except Dec. 24-26 and Jan. 1. The east and west ends will be quiet Dec. 24-Jan. 5.

Again: there will be no lane closures for active construction over the next week as we accommodate heavy Christmas traffic. Call it our gift to each of you!

Enjoy your time with your families next week, and please consider giving the gift of a sober ride this Christmas. Heck, it's a pretty easy stocking stuffer, if you're still looking for something! It never costs anything to be a designated driver or a designated texter for your friends and family, after all!

First turnaround at FM 3009 to open Friday (and other I-35 Selma stuff)

A small tree that's hanging into the road on the westbound Loop 1604 access road between Pat Booker Road and I-35 will be removed by the end of the week to address a safety issue.

But that's not the biggest news on the I-35 Selma project; that distinction belongs to the FM 3009 intersection.

FM 3009

The north-to-south turnaround will open Friday, December 20 - four days before Dan Williams Company project superintendent George Mayfield promised. George says project manager Freddy Cole is the hero for the work; Freddy has been on-site with the crews, pushing for maximum productivity every moment crews were on site.

Over the last week the medians and pedestrian ramps were formed and poured, with work finishing up Thursday. The barriers were moved Tuesday and Wednesday, replaced by barrels. The final surface of asphalt was laid yesterday, and Thursday painters marked the roadway stripes.

The turnaround - and the lanes over FM 3009 - will be opened up in time for the Friday evening commute. This should be particularly good news to the folks at the city of Schertz....

While concrete crews have begun working on the south-to-north turnaround over the last few days, the heavy work on that turnaround will begin after New Year's. That turnaround should be open by the end of the first quarter next year.

Milestone Two

The second major milestone on the project (the first was the northbound exit ramp to Forum Parkway, finished up by Thanksgiving this year) calls for the contractor to reconstruct the northbound exit ramp to FM 3009. The ramp will gain a lane - making two exit lanes to FM 3009 - and will get some improvements to the drain structures at the site.

That work will require the ramp to be completely closed for the work, forcing traffic headed to FM 3009 to use the Schertz Parkway exit. That, or drivers can use the next available exit and turn around ... whichever suits the driver.

Dan Williams has three weeks to finish that work; that is, from the day they close the ramp, they'll have three weeks to have it reopened for use. When that ramp closes, the entrance ramp from FM 1518 will open. The entrance ramp will remain open for use.

Work on Milestone Two is slated to start in January. An exact date for that closure will be given when it's "set in concrete".

Loop 1604

Through the last week we've been working on resolving the pavement issues on the ramp from Loop 1604 onto northbound I-35, requiring more closures than had been initially scheduled.

To those impacted by those closures, please accept our deepest apologies. Often those closures only lasted a few hours, and were needed to ensure a safe and secure drive.

Rather than patching the road as initially planned, pavers milled out some 10 inches of asphalt and repaved the ramp. Project personnel are confident this should adequately address the issues that had been encountered.

FM 1518

Dan Williams will close the intersection of FM 1518 at I-35 - the roads beneath the I-35 bridge - for a 24-hour period to build all the storm drain features at the intersection. That work will be done on a Sunday - right now supervisors are targeting Jan. 19 or Jan. 26 for that work.

With the intersection closed, cross traffic will need to use the access roads to Schertz Parkway or Evans Road to reach its destination.

I-35 Selma project: Forum Parkway and FM 3009 update

Forum Parkway area

We'll have an emergency closure of the Loop 1604 ramps onto northbound I-35 to fix the asphalt under the new Forum Parkway exit ramp. Those driving the area will notice this is the second or third time we've had to do this ... and there's a reason for that.

The new ramp from Loop 1604 onto northbound I-35 is driving on asphalt that wasn't previously used; that is, it's been shifted over from its initial location. The old asphalt beneath the new isn't as thick as the asphalt that once held traffic and is breaking up. Every time a patch is in place, the area around that patch begins to break apart.

In an ideal world we'd shut the ramp down and dig everything up, then totally reconstruct the roadway. But that's expensive and wasn't factored into the original plan sheets.

Working with what we've got already out there and in an effort to follow the plans, we've been patching the roadway. Instead of using the smaller patches that have been used out there, Angel Brothers Construction is going to use larger patches - essentially tire-to-tire - to help keep the surface intact. Monday morning they're scheduled to go in again and lay a final surface.

Whatever the technical side of the work is, if you're driving in the area be aware the ramp from Loop 1604 to northbound I-35 will be closed Friday morning and Monday morning - after the morning rush hour - to repair and surface the road.

FM 3009 area

Levy Construction - the electrician on the project - is working to get the lights at FM 3009 burnign by the middle of next week. Those lights are under the overpass, lighting the way for folks using the main lanes of I-35.

Dan Williams Company had concrete crews working on the curbs and sidewalks on the overpass earlier today, with mixing trucks delivering concrete as quickly as crews could get it out.

Paving crews will be ready to pave the turnaround and the intersection area at FM 3009 the middle of next week, if weather allows for it (remember: asphalt requires temperatures near 60 degrees). Three layers of asphalt remain to be placed before we can talk about putting traffic on the turnaround. The first layer is called "Type C", then a seal coat is added. The seal coat keeps the moisture levels in the base of the pavement where the levels need to be, allowing the pavement to get strong. On top of the seal coat is our final surface.

After the final surface is down - also scheduled for mid-week - and the road is striped, we'll be able to move the barriers protecting the workzone, opening up some space on the intersection to move everything into its final configuration.

Dan Williams project managers are working to schedule work to get the intersection marked to allow two left turn lanes in each direction across the FM 3009 overpass. The final configuration of the overpass will have three lanes in each direction: a left-only lane, an optional straight-or-left lane, a thru lane. The approach on the northbound frontage road will have the turnaround, a left-only, an optional straight-or-left, a thru and a right-only lane.

The southbound frontage road approaching the intersection will look the same, but that work will wait until the north-to-south area is finished.

By finishing the north-to-south turnaround, we'll be able to move the barriers along the southbound frontage road coming from FM 3009, allowing for the two lanes to handle the dual-left option coming from Schertz.

All that puts us on pace to have the intersection opened up (except the south-to-north turnaround) in time for Christmas.

Spring Branch, The Loop, Seguin Ave and other Comal County things

It's been a while since a hearty post was published about all things Comal County, so this post should be a particular treat to those living in the beautiful Texas Hill Country areas north of the metro area....

New project

The best place to begin is with something new, right? Earlier this week we accepted bids on a project at I-35 and Loop 337 (Rueckle Road) to reconfigure the Loop 337 overpass bridge. Hunter Industries of San Marcos submitted the apparent low bid, 10 percent less than the estimate TxDOT engineers came up with.

For more on this, check out the KGNB Web site here. (We'd post more here, but KGNB has all the info we'd have.)

U.S. 281 Comal

Two major items have happened on the U.S. 281 project up in Spring Branch: the southbound lanes have been seperated from the northbound lanes between the Blanco-Comal county line and Blazing Meadows. Second - and, perhaps, most important for motorists to know - is the decrease in speed limit along the project.

The speed limit change is permanent. Except for a small segment near FM 311, the speed limit is 55 miles per hour. Remember: it's an active construction zone, and Comal County law enforcement officials are enforcing the speed limit. If workers are on the project, the fine is doubled.

That short segment at FM 311 is posted at 50 miles per hour, but it's not a bad idea to drop to 45.

Just for grins, here's a look at the drive from the county line to the Guadalupe River:

Seguin Avenue

This is a project that won't give us much to really talk about (regarding traffic switches, etc.) until sometime this spring. Well, we'll have a traffic switch on Seguin Avenue between Nacogdoches and Faust as we finish the work we're doing on the westbound side of Seguin Avenue and move onto the eastbound side, but that's still a few weeks away.

For now, we're on pace to finish the project on time. The shoofly detour is in place and in use. The old overpass bridge structure has been removed and crews are getting ready to start building the new bridge.

Remember: we need to build two bridges and knock down two bridges. We're building the shoofly bridge, knocking down the old bridge, building a new bridge, then knocking down the shoofly bridge.

We're also building the drain field - really, a detention pond - under the roadway as well. That will help keep the entryway to New Braunfels open through rain events. With the rock walls that will match the original retaining walls along the project (and the nice pedestrian handrails along the road under the UPRR overpass), it will make for a beautiful gateway to the city's downtown.

I-35 Selma

With the work at Forum Parkway done - at least, the bridge work is done - bridge crews and concrete crews are being moved to work on the FM 3009 overpass and turnaround bridges. The goal is to have the north-to-south turnaround open and the overpass at its final configuration by Christmas.

The future

City and county officials have adopted a list of priorities - five prioritized projects, really - to submit to the metropolitan planning organization. Both municipalities are now members of the San Antonio-Bexar County MPO, and most projects with TxDOT and federal funds need approval through the MPO moving forward. (By the way, rumor has it the MPO will be getting a new name.)

Among the prioritized projects submitted by Comal County and New Braunfels is work on Loop 337 between Altgelt and Highway 46, expansion of FM 306 between Hunter Road and River Chase Drive and expansion of Hwy 46 at Bulverde.

I-35 Selma project priority: FM 3009

With the Forum Parkway exit ramps opened, bridge-building crews and concrete crews are being moved to the intersection of FM 3009 with the intent of having the north-to-south turnaround opened before Christmas.

With the turnaround, we hope to open up the intersection - including the overpass over I-35 - to it's final configuration. That means three lanes in both directions on FM 3009: One is a left-only lane; one is an "optional lane, or a lane that allows drivers to go straight or turn left; and a through lane. We're hoping to have all that ready in time for Santa to use to enjoy the milk and cookies left out for him by the good folks of the Schertz-Garden Ridge area.

Earlier this week, bridge crews were forming and pouring the concrete barriers not yet finished on the turnaround bridge. Other crews were cleaning up debris through the area. We still have some concrete work to finish - including the sidewalks and sloped ramps on the sidewalks - before we can move some of the barricades out of the way and lay down asphalt.

We've also got signs and pavement stripes to set.

Here's the kicker: asphalt requires fairly warm (for this time of year) temperatures. And with the current forecast, that warm temperature is going to be tough to find. Concrete requires temperatures above 40 degrees. Asphalt requires temps in the 60s ... so we're hoping by time the cold front blows out next week we can really get this going.

There a few other boring details ... but those are all engineery things. The bottom line: weather permitting, we'll have the north-to-south turnaround and the lanes over I-35 opened up before Grandma and Grandpa visit for Christmas.

Santa opens the new Forum Parkway exit!

Santa helped open the northbound I-35 exit ramp to Forum Parkway this morning, and with the added effort of our contractor (Dan Williams Construction) we’ve ensured that all roads are open to Forum Parkway in time for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.

The ramp closed earlier this year to be rebuilt as part of a $24 million project that enhances safety and addresses congestion along I-35 between Loop 1604 and Farm to Market 3009. The ramp bridges northbound traffic headed to Forum Parkway over traffic from Loop 1604 onto northbound I-35, separating traffic streams that previously competed for space using a zipper weave. The old ramps were adequate when the interchange was built, but growth fueled the need for change.

Celebrating the new ramp were representatives of the city of Selma, the city of Live Oak and representatives of The Forum at Olympia Parkway. With all roads open to Forum Parkway, our crews are as excited to move on to other portions of the project as the merchants in the area are about having unfettered access to their stores.

All work at Forum Parkway isn’t done, though. In order to be ready for the holiday weekend, a temporary layer of asphalt was put down during the cold snap through the weekend. The final layer will be placed next week, requiring a temporary daytime closure in the process. We’re coordinating that effort with local stakeholders to ensure minimal impacts.

The bottom line: all roads are open to Forum Parkway; Santa even made a trip to check it out twice!

New and old work along I-35.... (northeast San Antonio)

First, the new....

Work has officially begun on a three-year, $74.4 million project that will expand I-35 between Thousand Oaks Drive and San Antonio Military Medical Center. Lane Construction, one of the nation’s largest road-building contractors with a regional office in Fort Worth, will be doing the work.

The U.S. Department of Defense supplied $20 million for the work, hoping to address congestion and improve safety for those moving through the corridor on the way to SAMMC.

For you and me, this means construction activity will be a daily scene along this corridor. Overnight work this week and next will be used to restripe both main lanes and frontage roads, reducing lane widths by at least a foot project-wide.

All lanes - main lanes and frontage roads - have been skinnied up by about a foot. Be aware of this change as you drive through this corridor - especially around the heavy truck traffic!

The biggest impact for daily commuters is a reduced speed limit along the corridor. For the duration of the project, speed limits are capped at 55 miles per hour. The Department of Public Safety was involved with this decision, and their officers pledged to enforce the lowered limits – and, as a friendly reminder, fines double in active work zones!

 

Work zone speed limits are set at 55 m.p.h. for the next three years. Be aware of the change, and don't be surprised if a uniformed representative of the city or state reminds you of this change personally!

The lane closures folks are most likely to see along this project will be overnight only. Lane Construction is only allowed to close lanes on the main lanes during a very specific set of hours, with financial penalties in place for violating those restrictions. Additionally, by company practice, work will not typically be taking place during weekends.

Through the holiday season, lane closures will be scarce. Next week we’ll see closures to allow for barrier to be set and the remaining road stripes to be painted; then, through the end of the year, the work will be done primarily behind concrete barrier.

Beware, though, of an occasional truck entering or exiting the highway to leave or reach a work zone.

When we’re all done with this project (and this is looking three years down the road), we will have:

• Expanded the highway by one lane in each direction
• Reversed some of the ramps along the corridor; that is, exit ramps will become entrance ramps and vice versa
• The southbound exit ramp from I-35 to I-410 will be moved to the right side of the road (it’s a left-side exit right now) 

The biggest change with this project will be at this interchange - the lanes moving to southbound I-410, at left, will be moved to the right. The idea is to cut down on the traffic weave involving heavy trucks coming from nearby industrial facilities.

While work began Monday (Nov. 11), we’ll be looking to hold a formal, ceremonial groundbreaking in the next few weeks.

The already ongoing....

The biggest news on the I-35 Selma project surrounds the work being done around the northbound exit to Forum Parkway.

Dan Williams Co. is on pace to have that exit ramp open by Thanksgiving (and might even have a day or two to spare). The bigger impact on daily traffic will come next week, though: we plan to have the ramp from Loop 1604 to northbound I-35 reopened in time for Monday’s morning commute.

 

Soon traffic from Loop 1604 will be merging onto northbound I-35 right here, after passing under the nearly complete exit to Forum Parkway.

That's good news!

Of course, we'd be amiss without adding the caveat that weather and equipment challenges could cause some hiccups. Remember: the goal is to have the ramps from Loop 1604 back in action by Monday morning. That means folks will see a fair amount of work over the weekend as crews lay a final surface of asphalt and stripe the lanes for the ramp, then remove the portable barriers and detour signs. All told, that should take most of the weekend to accomplish.

On the southbound side, Dan Williams Co. has scheduled subcontractors to pave the exit ramp to Olympia Parkway and Forum Parkway. Again, the goal is to reopen the exit ramp in time for Thanksgiving, ensuring all roads are open to the Forum this holiday season.

Now, the intersection at FM 3009.... Our friends up in Schertz are anxious to see that work finished, and we are very aware! To be honest, we're just as anxious to finish up. Our inspectors and engineers are spread thin, and our contractor would like to finish up so he can be paid for his work.

 

When work near Forum and Olympia parkways wraps up, crews will hit hard the northbound exit to FM 3009 and the attendant frontage roads and new turnarounds.

But, because of the priority (due to financial incentives and disincentives) at Forum Parkway, focus for the next two weeks will be squarely on the ramps near Forum and Olympia parkways. Once those ramps are built - and, by all accounts, work could be finished up by the end of the month down in that area - crews will move to the FM 3009 area. This will mean finally getting to the rebuild that will close the northbound exit to FM 3009 for as much as three weeks. It will mean finally finishing up the turnarounds at FM 3009, and a final layer of asphalt for the road.

We've already added the second left-turn lane on the frontage road, hoping to help traffic flow better at the intersection. Now we just need to finish the structures. That work will begin (again) in earnest the first week of December.

Northbound I-35 exit to FM 3009 tabled ... for now

Closure of the northbound I-35 exit to FM 3009 has been tabled until the contractor working on the I-35 Selma project can responsibly allocate resources for the work.

This decision was made by the contractor, Dan Williams Construction. Right now the project's highest priority is getting the northbound exit to Forum Parkway finished so we can, in turn, reopen the ramps from Loop 1604 onto northbound I-35. This prioritization - and a bit of a shortage of laborers - has placed other tasks a little lower on the totem pole, so to speak.

Let's take all this one step at a time....

FM 3009 exit

First off, we're not closing the FM 3009 exit for at least a few weeks. And, with the current schedule putting us at a point to be ready for work until somewhere around Thanksgiving. But, since the businesses are dependent on the spending that happens through Turkey Day, that means we'll likely not be touching the ramp until after Thanksgiving.

Between now and then, we'll reconfigure the northbound frontage road approaching FM 3009 to allow more flow. First and foremost, that means traffic patterns will return to "normal" sometime early next week.

Though we won't have the northbound exit to FM 3009 under construction or rebuilt within the next few weeks (it will remain open until we're ready to rebuild the ramp), our crews will be restriping the road to open up the traffic flow at this intersection.

As for the exit closure? Again, we're looking at sometime after Thanksgiving at this point. When that happens, it will close for not more than three weeks while we adjust the ramp a bit and add a lane. When we're all done, the exit ramp will feature two lanes.

In the meantime, we're working where we can on the turnaround bridge(s). Frankly, the crews on the project that do the kind of concrete work needed there are committed to the Forum Parkway exit, so the schedule to open that turnaround has been pushed back a bit.

In the late afternoon, the fact you're looking directly into the sun makes taking a photo tough to do. But from under the FM 3009 overpass bridge, drivers can see the work on these structures is nearly completed. Crews are focused on the northbound exit to Forum Parkway, but as they are available some crews will work on the finishing touches - the concrete barrier rails - on the turnaround bridges.

Forum Parkway

The top priority on the project - head and shoulders above other activities - is getting the northbound exit to Forum Parkway open in time for the holiday shopping season. Really, that means Thanksgiving is the deadline we're working on (so we can be out of the way for Black Friday).

Work on the northbound exit to Forum Parkway continues. Crews are pushing to have all roads open to The Forum in time for Black Friday.

Over the last two weeks we've hung bridge support beams and started setting bridge deck panels. Next week we're planning to pour the bridge deck. That is, pour concrete to make up the bridge deck.

We'll also be working as close to around-the-clock as can safely be done on the final retaining walls for the bridge landing. Once the retaining walls are in place and the bridge deck is poured (and the curing time for the concrete has passed), we'll build the barrier.

With the bridge support beams in place and deck panels being set, crews should be pouring concrete for the Forum Parkway exit ramp early next week. We're hoping to reopen to traffic the ramps from Loop 1604 to northbound I-35, which will drive under the support arch shown here, in upcoming weeks.

All this means we're looking to reopen the ramps from Loop 1604 to northbound I-35 shortly after Veterans Day. Weather permitting, at least.

As for the exit ramp to Forum Parkway? Our crews have devoted every available resource to the ramp and we should be able to finish up just in time. That's right - all roads will be open to The Forum.

Other work areas

Wet weather has slowed down the reconstruction of the southbound exit ramp to Forum Parkway and Olympia Parkway. Traffic is using the exit to FM 1518 and following the access road to reach appropriate destinations. Before the new exit ramp can be built, two small retaining walls need to be built. Right now, between the constant onslaught of rains (hitting every time the ground dries up enough to work) and a smaller available workforce than expected, we're hoping to have that southbound exit ready before Christmas.

Yes, that's a little later than initially anticipated. Again, all available resources are being dedicated to the northbound exit to Forum Parkway. The southbound side will be built as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, subcontractors are using nightly closures to work on the center barrier and the road lighting. Most of that work should be finishing up by the end of the year.

The overall project is on pace to finish up by the end of the school year.