Main Street bridge in Boerne closed overnight this week

Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Relmco Construction will close the Main Street bridge over Cibolo Creek in Boerne so crews can place a final layer of asphalt on the bridge. This paving work will be followed with painters to mark the new lines on the roadway.

The work marks what should be the end of a project to widen the bridge that began January 2013.

The bridge closure will be complete, requiring traffic to use River Road, Esser Road and East Blanco Road as a detour. Local residents may recognize the detour as the same route used when Main Street closes for parades.

Each night, the closure will begin at 9 p.m. and crews will open the bridge in time for the morning commute.

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.

2013 in review....

When 2013 began three major projects sat in limbo after the financial collapse of one of the department’s most oft-used road builders while a flurry of major projects awaited a start date.

Those three stalled projects – including two segments of Wurzbach Parkway and the I-10 Huebner project – resumed in the spring after being released by a bankruptcy court and new contractors were selected by the projects’ bonding company. Most of the early work done on each project was maintenance – the projects needed to be cleaned up and inventory taken.

Just as the year came to a close, victory! The first segment of Wurzbach Parkway, running from Blanco Road to West Avenue, opened for traffic. Yes, an issue with the bridge deck surface is holding us back from opening the Blanco Road overpass just yet … but we got that segment of the parkway opened and operational. The bridge deck surface issue, by the way, is about ride quality and not structure. We’re trying to provide the best-quality product we can, and this is a major topic of conversation between TxDOT leaders and the responsible bonding company.

Work continues on the eastern segment, also slowed by the Ballenger Construction bankruptcy; we hope to have the stretch from Jones-Maltsberger to Wetmore opened by the end of summer. With major road builder Webber Construction working on the I-10 Huebner project, we’re assured the project should be substantially completed by early 2015 (which is amazingly not far off the original completion target).

With all that said, let’s take a look at a few of the successes enjoyed by TxDOT during 2013.

Traffic signals

In January we turned on McMullen County’s first-ever full traffic signal. The intersection of state Highways 16 and 72 was fitted to a traffic signal that offers protected left-turn lanes and traffic control for two major corridors for the booming Eagle Ford Shale energy traffic.

Later in the year we turned on a new signal at the intersection of state Highway 46 and Rudeloff Road just north of Seguin. More than 21,000 vehicles pass through that intersection each day, with many using Rudeloff Road to reach the local airport. The signal replaces two-way stop signs and has improved safety at that critical intersection – and has improved the gateway to the Guadalupe-Comal community for those who commute via aircraft.

Finally, as part of a major project up in north Comal County, we built and turned on a signal at the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and Rebecca Creek Road (in Spring Branch). That signal has already added a huge amount of safety to the intersection and will prove critical when our work to convert Highway 281 to a divided highway is finished by the end of 2015.

Finished projects

2013 was a year of continuing efforts. About a dozen projects were completed through the year, each surrounding sidewalk improvements or road resurfacing. The biggest project to wrap up was the “hot-in-place” resurfacing project on I-37 on the south end of Bexar County.

In terms of our most major projects, last year was one of those years where we simply continued that which we started. And, in fairness, we started quite a bit of projects through the year.

Started projects

More than $221 million in contracts were awarded with work starting during 2013. Now, that’s just the actual contract amount, not total project costs (contract amounts do not include design and other costs associated with a project before it even starts). These projects range from adding capacity to the highway to reconstructing frontage roads to landscaping improvements. Here are a few highlights:

Seguin Avenue (New Braunfels): Austin Bridge Company is rebuilding a UPRR bridge and widening the main entryway to downtown New Braunfels. The icing on the cake here is the fact Austin Bridge is the same company that built the original UPRR bridge as part of the Works Progress Administration program back in the 1930s. Work started in January and will wrap up late spring 2014.

U.S. Highway 281 (Spring Branch): Hunter Industries started this 30-month project that turns a country highway into a four-lane divided highway in February and is already about halfway through the work, putting them on pace to potentially finish the work before the end of 2014. There are several factors that may impact that, however, including the fate of the Spring Branch Post Office.

FM 306 (Comal County): Another project by Hunter Industries, this is two-year project that’s also just more than halfway done. It started in March. While building two overpasses to separate the road traffic from UPRR railroad traffic is a major portion of this work, we’re also expanding the road to a four-lane divided highway.

I-35 SAMMC (northeast San Antonio): Thanks in part to a $20 million boost from the Department of Defense, Lane Construction was able to begin work expanding and adjusting I-35 between the two I-410 interchanges, near San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC). Work started in November.

Fred-Med (Medical Center): One of the more anticipated projects in San Antonio is a “grade separation” project at the intersection of Fredericksburg Road and Medical Drive. The project had been initially slated to begin early 2012, but was pushed back by utility adjustments and issues with a previous contractor. This summer the contract was awarded to Texas Sterling Construction, who began work in September. They are on pace to finish the project on time, by early 2015.

I-10 resurface and restripe (near Crossroads): This three-month project flew largely under the radar, but added a lane in each direction for folks driving between I-410 and Wurzbach Road on the northwest side of town. Clark Construction is nearly finished, and should be wrapped up within the next few weeks (weather permitting!).

I-10 Seguin: This conversion of the frontage road along I-10 between Highway 46 and FM 725 is being done by Angel Brothers Construction and is entirely funded by local sources. Not only will this nine-month project, which started in October, make the area safer, but it will add to the growing economic corridor of the blossoming town.

Major milestones

The biggest milestone in the news this year was that of the northbound I-35 exit to Forum Parkway, which was closed near the beginning of the year to be reconstructed. We took what was a zipper-weave ramp with exiting and entering traffic merging with one another, competing for road space, and turned it in to a braided ramp with exiting traffic bridged over traffic entering northbound I-35 from Loop 1604.

Nearly six weeks after closing the ramp, the contractor discovered some design issues holding them back from building. Resolution of those issues pushed deep into our summer months, and when the contractor returned attention to the ramp they pushed hard to finish in time for the Christmas shopping season (the new exit ramp is a major route to The Forum at Olympia Parkway). That time frame was successfully met, and Santa helped us open the ramp the day before Thanksgiving.

The first of three major milestones on the I-10 Huebner project kicked in when lanes on I-10 over Fredericksburg Road were closed for about two months while Webber Construction rebuilt the bridge deck surface, forcing one of the lanes of main lane traffic to use the frontage road. To the credit of the contractor, that work was finished and the main lanes reopened three days earlier than the original 70-day target.

Out of the blue

A recap of the year wouldn’t be complete without recognizing the quick work and assistance of contractors who responded – with astonishing haste, no less – to emergency situations this year. Most notably, this includes an unused bridge over U.S. Highway 281 that was hit by a truck this summer.

The crash caused a closure of some main lanes on U.S. 281 that lasted several days, and the total closure of the highway for a weekend. Hunter Industries was able to complete the work to repair the bridge and clean up the mess in less than 30 hours, though they had more than 72 to finish the work.

On I-35 between Schertz and New Braunfels a garbage truck hit the underside of an overpass, causing structural concerns for a lane of the northbound I-35 main lanes. Hunter again came to help, offering equipment to assist in the short-term. Dan Williams Construction finished the work fast, though – getting the crossing under I-35 reopened in a matter of weeks rather than months.

Looking forward

Over the course of 2014, we’re looking forward to completing the bookends of the Wurzbach Parkway project as well as finish the I-35 project through Selma and Schertz. If we get favorable conditions, we could wrap up work on FM 306 near Gruene and on U.S. Highway 281 in Spring Branch. We’ll finish the Seguin Avenue project being done by Austin Bridge and Road.

The Main Street bridge in Boerne should be finished soon, and Relmco is expected to get the expansion of Highway 39 in Ingram near completion by year’s end. We’ll wrap up work on an overpass for Loop 1604 at Marbach by mid-year as well.

Meanwhile, we’re starting a project to convert Loop 1604 to an expressway (overpasses!) between Bandera Road and Culebra Road in northwest San Antonio. That should kick off this spring, as will some smaller projects in New Braunfels.

Those in the Fair Oaks Ranch and Boerne Stage Road area will see significant upgrades to the frontage roads along I-10, with work on the Ralph Fair Road overpass starting this spring.

And that’s the year in review!

Project roundup (because ... well ... it's all about being in the know!)

First of all, the goal when this blog was launched was to publish between three and five meaningful posts each week to let folks know what's going on with specific construction projects and construction-related road closures.

The problem with all that is when the poster is out-of-town, no posts get published. So ... in lieu of the last two weeks' worth of posts, here's a round-up of everything that's been happening on our major highway road projects in the San Antonio district. I'll start with the rural projects and work cityward (is that a word, even? If not, it is now...).

Kerr County - Hwy 39 (Ingram)

During a recent meeting of the minds between Ingram city officials and TxDOT staff, plans to work heavily on the Hwy 39 bridge over Johnson Creek were outlined.

According the the most recent construction schedule, the expansion of the bridge - it's being widened to accommodate the widened road, which will include sidewalks and bike lanes along with a center left-turn lane - should be finished early this fall. Until the work is finished, no pedestrian traffic should be permitted on the bridge. It's simply unsafe with the work zone barricaded off and only enough space on the bridge for the two active lanes of traffic. Because of the proximity to Ingram Tom Moore High School, this may present an issue for some of the local youth. We are working with school district officials to develop a solution for the few weeks of overlap we'll have with the upcoming school year.

Beyond the work on the Johnson Creek Bridge, work has begun and reached about the quarter-way-there mark on the new bridge over the Guadalupe River at Cade Loop Road. The column shafts sticking out of the water are at their final heights, though we still need to build column caps (which act as shelves for support beams) and build the deck itself. All that will come once the work on Johnson Creek Bridge is finished.

Meanwhile, we've begun building the detour - which will really act as a temporary road path side-by-side with the current roadway - which will be in use by late August so road crews can install drain structures along the west end of the project. Businesses in the middle of the project should also expect more action in front of their locations over the next week or two.

Kendall County - Main Street

With the signal upgrades nearing completion, the work on the Cibolo Creek Bridge is also headed quickly toward its finish line. Most of the overnight closures - used to allow bridge crews to safely hang beams and perform other major structure work - are done, but a few remain. Those closures, as always, will be announced as they arrive.

Comal County - US 281 through Spring Branch

Two of the final three property parcels have been acquired by TxDOT to continue construction, and we'll be able to work on those properties by October (there's a 90-day grace period so anything the former landowner wanted to keep can be salvaged). The final piece of land to acquire is the land where the Spring Branch Post Office is located. I don't have any updates on that.

It's really common for TxDOT to begin a project having acquired all but a few final pieces of land through right-of-way acquisition. It allows us to expedite projects and provide our safe, reliable solutions to safety or congestion issues to Texas drivers all that much faster.

Otherwise, work on the project is steaming along. Most of the future south-bound lanes between the Blanco County line and FM 311 are formed and built, waiting concrete and cement. We've still got a few gaps due to utility conflicts, but otherwise we're all in place up that way. Further south, we've got land being cleared along Coyote Ridge. Nothing being worked on (for now) really impacts daily traffic.

There is a concern about trucks entering and exiting the roadway, however. Unfortunately, there's not a lot we can do beyond telling truck drivers to be more cogniscent of the traffic flow. We've posted signs reading "TRUCKS ENTERING ROADWAY" signs in an effort to make drivers more aware this is an issue, but it (sadly) won't be going away any time soon. Because of the unpredictable and intermittent frequency of this, we simply cannot have flaggers or other traffic control out there to get these trucks in and out of the roadway. For now, we're reminding drivers to be good neighbors.

Comal County - FM 306

With efforts to add strategically located turning and passing lanes in the Canyon Lake area nearing an end - most of the pavement was in place by the end of last week, and job bosses are looking for a dry spell to allow lanes to be painted successfully - most of the concern on FM 306 has turned to the segment near Gruene.

In tha last few weeks folks have seen the bridge support structures go up for the future west-bound lanes near Hunter Road, and some of the similar work is happening near Goodwin Lane. As we begin putting caps - those shelves that top the columns and hold up the beams on bridges - on the columns at Hunter, look for the columns to start going up near Goodwin. We've already made some good headway on the retaining walls that will hold the approach to the overpass at Goodwin.

That bridge work is and will be the most visible work we do over the next several weeks. Yes, we're busy putting inlet drains in and working on a few other underground things ... and we've got some of the portions of roadway to be widened already graded out and the base layers of asphalt is down ... but we've still got a long way to go. Perhaps the most significant change for folks driving this corridor is the upgraded traffic signals. We've changed the signal devices from the old-fashioned timers to a new VIVDS Camera system. Basically, we've made the signals smart, and that should improve the traffic flow a bit while we're still in construction.

Comal County - Seguin Avenue

The magic day to mark on the calendar on this project is September 9. On that morning Seguin Avenue will be closed - completely and totally - at the UPRR underpass near I-35. The closure will last six months. Traffic will be detoured onto Nacogdoches Street, Comal Avenue and Hampe Street to get to their respective destinations.

Again, that's September 9. For six months.

Between now and then, you'll see more of the same stuff you've seen all summer. Work continues - and is nearing completion - on the new retaining wall. Drill shafts are being worked on to support the temporary "shoo-fly" detour. None of the work happening now will impact traffic until the summer is over. But, once September 9 hits, well ... hopefully you're getting the idea!

Comal County - Walnut Avenue

A clear distinction needs to be made here. The project at the intersection of Walnut Avenue and Landa Street, extending along Walnut Avenue south/east of that intersection, is being overseen by the city of New Braunfels. The TxDOT project on Walnut Avenue (which will expand the street and add sidewalks and bike lanes) is set to begin next year after utilities are appropriately adjusted. These adjustments are slated for later this year and early 2013.

Comal County - FM 2252 and FM 3009

After a three-week haiatus from the project - the contractor turned the intersection back over to TxDOT while we tested the new signal cabinets and got things calibrated appropriately - the contractor is back on the job. THey are scheduled to have the new signals in place by 8 August and should have the project buttoned up by the middle of the month.

Keep in mind most remaining work will be done at night, so you might not see the crews at work. We're trying to stay out of the way!

Comal/Guadalupe/Bexar County - I-35 Selma

This project ... wow. Where do I begin? Let's start north and work down from there.

The turnarounds at FM 3009 have been put at a lower priority on the list of tasks on this project, but should still be hammered out by the first part of September. That's the aim, for now. Crews were reallocated to the ramps and highway expansion between FM 1518 and Schertz Parkway.

About two weeks ago we opened the north-bound exit ramp to Schertz Parkway. We can't get the entrance ramp from FM 1518 opened up quite yet as there are some concerns about the distance between that entrance ramp and the exit to FM 3009 without all the expansion work in place. The south-bound entrance ramp from Schertz Parkway was opened when the main lanes were repaved over the weekend. The closures caused some heavy congestion, but crews were able to work quickly and get the lanes reopened a full two hours earlier than estimated.

We are still working on the highway widening between Schertz Pkwy and FM 1518 ... but we're getting there! We have the south-bound exit to FM 1518 to finish up as well, and the south-to-north turnaround to complete.

A design team at our district office has taken over the reworking of the construction sequence and traffic control plan for the north-bound exit to Forum Parkway. We're hopeful to have a new plan in place this week and get shovels in the ground again, allowing us to have that finished and reopened around Halloween.

Bexar County - Wurzbach Parkway

This three-in-one project (it's actually three seperate projects, but I talk about it as if it were one) has been interesting over the last couple of years. The biggest question asked is the one I'll answer first: When's it going to be done? The answer is in three parts:

• Blanco-to-West: Early fall 2013
• West-to-Jones Maltsberger: Early 2015
• JM-to-Wetmore: Mid 2014

With formalities aside, there's been a ton of development over near Blanco Road and Vista Del Norte. Minor lane closures at Blanco have allowed crews to finish work on some concrete islands and get some sidewalk built, and they're almost done with the turnaround (west-to-east) at Blanco. The Vista Del Norte intersection is trickier, with a right-on, right-off configuration for all directions. Crews are working on building all that's needed to make that new intersection fully operational, and they've already got traffic moving in a modified version of the final configuration.

Closer to U.S. Highway 281, crews are working on the bridge structures east of the highway. There's a lot of activity on Bitters at U.S. 281, as well as at Nakoma and Hwy 281. This work has required some turnaround closures at both locations and some actual lane closures of Bitters Road under the highway. we're expecting work to continue in both locations for another five months or so, but the contractor has been working hard to get the traffic lanes reopened sooner.

Efforts to get Jones-Maltsberger finished (it's been involved with closures and a detour configuration for over a year now) and sized up for the future intersection with the Parkway are moving more intensely. Last week electricians were building the infrastructure needed for all the traffic signals and pedestrian sign posts. We're hoping to have the road opened to its final, four-plus lane configuration by the end of September.

Bexar County: Vance Jackson overpass bridge

With everything else in the district, this significant project has managed to fly under the radar a bit. The good news is we're nearly finished, and hope to have the bridge opened for use by the end of September. That will allow traffic along Vance Jackson from, say, DeZavala Road to reach The Rim without turnarounds or using I-10. We're hoping it affords local traffic a viable alternate to I-10 in the event of heavy traffic during peak hours.

Bexar County: Marbach Road overpass

With work on a sound wall along the north-bound lanes south of Marbach, the biggest work (for now) outside the median area is underway. For the most part, we've not had a ton of major lane closures as yet. That will change (a little) when we start building the actual overpass bridge at Marbach ... but that's still quite a way out.

The best news of all is knowing this project is running on time and is (so far) pretty smooth. (Quick - somebody knock on some wood!) We're hoping to be finished by early fall next year. I'll say this: having met the head honcho with the contracting company (Capital Excavation) on that project, I've met few motivated to get a project as quickly as this group is. They really want to be in, out and done.

Bexar County: I-10 Huebner

This project is moving right along with Webber Construction pushing the cart. Bridge building crews are just a couple of weeks from having work on the I-10 overpass at Fredericksburg Road finished, which means traffic will be returned to a full three lanes on the main lanes by the end of the month. (May be a little sooner than that, even!)

It also means some relief at the intersections of I-10, Huebner and Fredericksburg is in sight. It's a tough area to start with during peak hours, and we know the work we've been doing has complicated things. Thank you to those who've dealt so well with the work we're doing.

Those driving the project have noted the retaining walls near UTSA Boulevard as well. We're glad to be moving forward with that work. Seems so many struggles getting the support structures for those walls have been encountered, it's really satisfying to see the walls take shape.

The goal for the contractor is to get everything else ready for major work at the DeZavala overpass to start this fall. That work is going to result in major pinch points for traffic along I-10 and DeZavala; the main lanes will be squeezed (made narrower) and shifted over. If anyone drove through I-410 during work on the north side of San Antonio a few years back, they'll recognize the traffic patterns.

When we get into the DeZavala bridge (we're lifting it, and in turn need to lengthen the bridge and widen it a bit), we'll close down BOTH turnarounds underneath. This work will continue for a full year - six months in each direction. The work has incentives tied to it, and the contractor stands to earn an extra $300K for each side if the work can be done fast enough.

Job bosses are telling me they hope to be finished with the entire project by the start of 2015 - which is only six months behind the initial schedule (most of the delay coming from the bankruptcy proceedings for Ballenger Construction).

Bexar County: Fred-Med

Questions on this project come weekly, so here's what we've got:

We selected a contractor earlier this summer (the project went through the entire bid process all over again) and expect to start work in September. This is a two-year job, so expect to see action until near the end of 2015.

Texas Sterling Construction won the contract with a bid of a little more than $13.8 million, which was pretty well in line with the construction estimate offered by our engineers. All told, the project has a projected total cost of about $14.6 million.

Bexar County: I-35 SAMMC

This project is going to be a doozy. It's all about safety, and the U.S. Department of Defense even kicked in a bit of money (to the tune of more than $20 million, enough to pay for more than a third of the total construction) to make this happen.

While we're expanding the highway between the north and the south I-410 interchanges on I-35, the biggest thing we're doing here is moving the ramp from south-bound I-35 to south-bound I-410 to the right side. Currently, as a left-hand exit, we're seeing some safety concerns and some traffic bog-down from trucks moving across four lanes of traffic to reach the ramp.

We're hoping to shave something like five minutes off the average commute time through this corridor with this improvement (and a host of others). But growing pains will come first, and the work on the 4.6-mile stretch is scheduled to be finished by mid-2017.

Lane Construction - one of the largest road builders in the country - won the award for the $74.4 million project. We're expecting this work to kick off in the next month or so.

That's it - for now!

That just about sums it up. I'll have smaller posts related to each project as they progress. Thanks for your patience!

Cibolo Creek Bridge on Main Street in Boerne will close for a night....

Weather permitting, bridge crews widening the Main Street bridge over Cibolo Creek will close the bridge to set support beams the night of Tuesday, June 25.

The closure will be complete, requiring traffic to use alternate routes to reach their destinations. The marked detour should be familiar to locals – it’s the detour route used for parades that shut down Main Street – and will follow River Road, Esser Road and Blanco Road.

Crews will begin closing lanes at 9 p.m. June 25 and have the bridge reopened by 6 a.m. June 26. Right now project personnel think they can finish the work in a single night. If inclement weather prevents the work, new dates and times will be announced.

The closure will allow bridge-builders to move a large crane onto the bridge to set concrete beams in place. These beams will support the expanded portion of the bridge. Construction on the bridge is scheduled to wrap up later this year.

Off the beaten path ... (roundup of non-metro projects)

We spend so much time talking about projects in the San Antonio-Bexar metro area, but the San Antonio district covers 12 counties. So, out of deference to those living in the "other" 11 counties, here's a glance at where we're at with our other projects:

Comal County

This is where the bulk of our major work that's not in San Antonio is going on. I'll try to be brief, but complete....

Seguin Street (Business 46)
The contractor is hard at work to install five-foot-by-two-foot drain boxes - one of the major features of this project, which will provide much-needed improved drainage in addition to the widened roadway - while working on the early stages of the shoofly detour for the railroad.

We're still holding strong to the stance that we'll not allow any closures on the road until the summer season is over. However, the contractor has targeted 9 September as the date to begin the heaviest work of the project. This work will require the total closure of Seguin Street, and we won't open the road back up until mid-April 2014.

FM 306
What you see out there now is about what you'll see day in, day out for the next five months or so. That said, our contractor (Hunter Industries) is working hard to make the overall project move more quickly. They've been working on some segments that weren't scheduled for work until later next year. The idea is to work in every area that's barricaded off right now, rather than focus efforts in one area with a large swath of barricaded roadway going unworked.

Also, sometime next week, the contractor should be receiving VIVDS cameras for the signals at Common and at Hunter. These will allow the signals to sense traffic rather than relay on a timer. This will improve traffic flow - well, as much as can be done with occasional interruptions from train crossings!

The goal is to have the VIVDS operational in time for the July Fourth weekend, weather permitting.

U.S. 281 (Spring Branch)
Not a lot has changed for those passing through, and not a lot will for the next several weeks. Well, with one slight exception.

Crews were slated to install a new signal set at the intersection of U.S. 281 and FM 306 Friday, but weather washed those plans away (see what I did there?). The plan is to re-group over the upcoming week and get things put in as soon as the ground is dry enough to allow. This will require some traffic control for the duration of work - about a day - and folks should look out for a flagger. Again, it shouldn't be for longer than a day.

Kendall County

Main Street Boerne
The work on The Hill Country Mile plods along ... we're hoping to be all finished up with everything by the end of summer. So far, no indications that work is running behind at all.

Kerr County

Hwy 39 Ingram
This project is a bit frustrating for everyone involved. The contractor received a notice to proceed in January ... and, well, to date they have constructed half of a box culvert and a single wing wall.

Earlier this week the contractor drilled the first drill shafts - evidence of work on the bridge near Ingram Tom Moore High School. TxDOT engineers are working with the contractor to spur construction, which was initially scheduled to take just 13 months.

Guadalupe and Wilson counties

The biggest work east of Bexar County is along state Highway 123 - where we're working to build passing lanes and turn lanes. A lot of work has been finished, but we've got a lot left. Our contractor is expected to be finished in a little more than a year. Between now and then our work will, for the most part, remain beyond the traveling lanes of the highway.

McMullen County

Since there are something like 750 people down in McMullen county, I need to make mention of it. Really, the county is home to a lot of Eagle Ford Shale work.

TxDOT crews are hard at work down south to keep state Highway 16 in good repair so folks can continue driving through as they do. That's about all we've got going on in that county.

Atascosa, Frio, Medina, Uvalde, Bandera counties

Most of our work through the south and southwest segments of our district is maintenance work - nothing major happening beyond the work on I-35 at Medina River and on I-37 between the Atascosa County line and Loop 1604 (really, that's in Bexar County). That I-37 work - the south-bound lanes are being repaved - has caused some major delays and is being done at night.

Main Street Boerne progress....

After getting a few questions about the project on Main Street in Boerne, it's about time to provide an update (I'll try and get updates on this project out at least twice a month, when possible).

The project has three seperate segments - the Cibolo Creek bridge expansion, Construction of steel-armed traffic signals and crosswalk enhancements. Each segment is being built seperately from the ohter segments, though project supervisors routinely coordinate work with one another to ease the impact on daily commuters.

Crosswalk enhancements

Crews are about 60 percent of the way done with the intersection of Blanco Road, and they've already finished up at Bandera Street, River Road and Rosewood. When crews finish at Blanco - probably late next week - they'll move on to Johns Road. Work at Johns Road will take about a month, then the location at School Street will take about two weeks.

Crews pour concrete that will seat brick pavers across Blanco Road at Main Street in Boerne.

Of course, all that depends on weather.

Remember: while work is happening at these intersections, we'll have traffic restricted to a single lane in each direction. But, again, that's only in the specific intersection the crews are working on.

Traffic signals

All the underground work is finished, meaning pole foundations and the conduit carrying power lines to the signal poles have been put in. All the controller foundations are built as well. Well, except for the underground structures at Bandera Street. Crews are working there right now, and they'll be finished by the end of the month.


The new paver strips marking the crosswalks in downtown Boerne will add to the aesthetics of the Hill Country Mile. Meanwhile, traffic signals at intersections like this will be changed to steel mast arms over the next two months.

The mast arms are scheduled to arrive sometime in May, and crews will start installing them when they get in.

All in all, the work on the intersections should be finished by mid-summer.

The bridge

In late March, the contractor's drilling rig broke down and halted progress on the bridge. The contractor did everything they could without the driller, not letting the time go by unused, and the rig got back up and running again last week. As folks drive by, they can probably see the drill rig at work, drilling foundations for the support columns that will hold up the expanded portions of the bridge.


The drill rig, on the right, is back up and running after about two weeks of frustrating project supervisors. Crews have finished nearly all the preparatory work to be done at this point that does not involve drilling.

The latest scoop

Thanks to a long weekend (state holiday plus Opening Day plus a family birthday), this blog has been a bit silent. So, here's a look at the latest on all things construction in the region:

I-10 Huebner:

We are officially back to being underway. Mostly, crews will continue cleaning up the job site and preparing the work areas. Think of it as when you take over a desk used by someone else for a while - you like to clean and rearrange things. Well, that's what they're doing. We should see actual excavation by the end of the week - mostly around UTSA Boulevard. I'll have more details next week.

I-35 Selma:

Overnight work at FM 3009 has meant total closures Monday night and Tuesday night. Storms prevented work last night and, I suspect, will prevent work tonight. Bridge crews are hard at work building the turnaround structures at FM 3009. South-bound lanes were impacted Sunday and Monday nights. The north-bound lanes will still be shut down ... but probably not this week. More on that tomorrow.

Keep in mind, with these closures, we'll start closing lanes down at 9 p.m. to set up the work area. At 11 p.m. we'll have everything shut down and traffic will be routed onto the frontage road through the intersection at FM 3009. This will cause major delays. We'll have everything picked up again by 5:30 a.m. the next morning.

U.S. 281 Comal:

Several calls to TxDOT and to Comal County have requested a look at what the final product will be up in Spring Branch. Right now we're working with Comal County Commissioner Jan Kennady to arrange an informal open house to let folks have a look. More efficient that way, we figure. More on that when details are known.

Main Street Boerne:

The U.S. Highway 87 project in Boerne continues to plug along. Really, not a lot of new stuff to update anyone on ... the bridge work is moving along as crews work on the support structures for the extra bridge while signal-building crews are working hard at upgrading the downtown intersections one crosswalk at a time.

Vance Jackson bridge:

After some closures on Loop 1604 through the weekend that only minimally impacted traffic, crews are cruising through the process of building support structures for the overpass that will connect Vance Jackson to The Rim shopping center. Nothing major to update anyone on beyond that.

Wurzbach Parkway:

This seems to be the project I get asked about the most. Right now only one of the three segments are actively being built - the middle segment, between West Avenue and Jones-Maltsberger. Most of that activity is concentrated on three specific tasks: build the bridge structures east of U.S. Highway 281; construct the overpass and build the highway subgrade around West Avenue; construct drain features along U.S. Highway 281 between Nakoma and Bitters.

A couple of brief items, to answer questions people have asked recently.... First, we have instructed the contractor to clean up the areas along U.S. 281 between Nakoma and Bitters, which has been reportedly getting a little messy with a variety of debris being left in the area (not all construction-related).

Second, here's a look at the current planned schedule of construction/completion:
Blanco Rd to West Ave: Resume April 2013, completion expected mid-summer 2013
West Ave to Jones-Maltsberger: Construction ongoing, completion scheduled early 2015
Jones-Maltsberger to Wetmore: Resume April 2013, completion expected mid-2014

FM 306:

While we're still waiting on the go-ahead from Union Pacific Rail Road to work on the crossing near Hunter Road, our contractor is working on clearing the right-of-way and moving utilities in the area. Folks should be aware there is some work near I-35 that's being done by AT&T as well. While that work is related to the FM 306 expansion, it's being overseen by the utility company and not TxDOT.

Kerr County work:

Work has started on state Highway 39 in Ingram, but is mainly out of the traveling lanes as bridge crews prepare to expand the Johnson Creek Bridge near Tom Moore High School.

Meanwhile, efforts to expand Francisco Lemmons Street in Kerrville are entering a new phase, requiring paving crews to resurface the roadway on Lemmons Street between Main Street and Thompson Drive. We'll do our best to keep at least a lane open in each direction, but folks should be aware of shifting lanes from a day-to-day basis.

On the horizon:

A contractor for the grade seperation project (translation: underpass) at the intersection of Fredericksburg Road and Medical Drive in San Antonio's Medical Center area should be selected by the end of the month. Bids were accepted earlier today, and a contractor will be announced once contracts have been agreed upon and signed. Construction should start early summer.

We will receive bids on a project to address clearance issues on I-10 at S. New Braunfels Ave and Gevers and Walters streets, and we expect that project to begin this summer.

Road closures to be aware of!

First of all, crews will shut down all main lanes of south-bound U.S. Highway 281 at Bitters Road tonight, beginning about 10 p.m. and lasting until 5 a.m. In order to get through, you'll need to exit Bitters and, after moving through the traffic signal, you'll be able to re-enter the highway.

In Boerne, demolition work on the Main Street bridge over Cibolo Creek associated with a project to widen the bridge will cause crews to close alternating lanes of the bridge Thursday night.

TxDOT is widening the Main Street bridge over Cibolo Creek in Boerne.

Crews will set up closures at 9 p.m. as bridge crews prepare to take apart the old rail to make way for the added width. Only alternating lanes will be closed – through traffic will continue as the work is being completed. Drivers should be aware of the changing traffic patterns expected through the night.

TxDOT anticipates the roadway will be restored to its normal construction-zone traffic patterns in time for Friday’s morning commute.

For more information on the total project in Boerne - which includes upgrades to traffic signals along the Hill Country Mile - please visit the official TxDOT project page. Get more information on the Wurzbach Parkway project here.

Rural Roundup - non-urban highway projects

Later this evening we'll be holding a brief meeting with the folks in Ingram to talk about what's been happening on the Hwy 39 Ingram project, and it seemed like a good enough time to run down the other projects outside "the Loop" (Loop 1604) and not on I-35. So ... here you go (enjoy!):

Hwy 39 Ingram
Since we'll be talking about it tonight, we'll start with the Hwy 39 Ingram project. This is a project the contractor expected to have moving in January, working primarily near the Johnson Creek bridge. However, we are being told by the contractor (Relmco, Inc., of Hondo) they are still working on allocating appropriate resources to begin work. When work does begin, the work will be focused near Johnson Creek and beyond the travel lanes - at least at first. After bridge-widening work at Johnson Creek has finished, crews will move in to other areas of the project.

For now, though, we're working with the contractor to begin the work as soon as possible.

Main Street Boerne
Over the last week or so, bridge crews have been working on shoring up (so to speak) a stable work environment in the Cibolo Creek. A pad for a drill rig has been set up, and drilling for support columns that will hold up widened segments of the bridge will begin next week.

The other half of the Main Street project - an effort to upgrade more than a half-dozen intersections in the historic Boerne downtown - just started moving. Over the next week those crews will finish laying out project areas and begin preparing for work on the crosswalk.

U.S. 281 Comal
Last week Hunter Industries, the contractor expanding U.S. 281 to a four-lane divided highway, began clearing and preparing the right-of-way at various locations. We anticipate crews to begin placing some drain structures south-bound from the Blanco County line. Crews haven't really started turning dirt as yet, but folks might see some utility crews out there moving some lines that are still in the way.

FM 306
Last week crews had a very small window to work on removing a few necessary trees between I-35 and Hunter Road, hoping to reduce the possibility of running onto migratory bird nests that can complicate construction over the summer months.

Like with the Boerne job, there's actually two projects going on in this corridor. The biggest - expanding FM 306 between I-35 and Hunter Road while constructing overpasses to bridge the road over rail road tracks - still hasn't officially started. However, the work on passing lanes and turn lanes near Canyon Lake has been underway for nearly two months.

Over the last week, Hunter Industries (working on the U.S. 281 Comal project as well as both FM 306 jobs) continued working on the east-bound passing lanes near Purgatory Road. They hope to be ready for asphalt - depending on weather (they need warm weather for asphalt) - on the first completed section as early as next week.

Meanwhile, a subcontractor will continue building drain structures and driveways that would have been displaced by the new roadway.

Business 46
Work has progressed cautiously because of the number of utilities in the area - we don't want to break anything, after all - but we've been clearing area and started drilling drill support shafts. This will support the new retaining walls on either side of the expanded Business 46 in downtown New Braunfels.

Crews from Austin Bridge and Road will continue to work on these drill shafts - the priority on the project for now - for the next few weeks. Nothing we do should heavily impact the driving lanes until after Labor Day.

There you have it - a "rural roundup", of sorts. Perhaps that's what we should start calling this regular post ... "Rural Roundup".

With that, we'll wrap up this post while I change the title....

Project updates....

Across the San Antonio area, we have about a dozen major projects to keep you up-to-date on.

Without any ado, we'll just get right into it (for more info on the project itself - what we're doing, the scope and, in some cases, a graphic of what we're doing, hit the link attached to each project title):

Main Street Boerne

Last month our crews laid out the project area at the Cibolo Creek bridge. Expect action to pick up this month, as work on the traffic signal upgrades should start by mid-month. Crews will begin setting up structures to help build support structures for the bridge expansion.

Highway 39 Ingram

Crews set up environmental protection measures in January and, over the next month, will begin work almost exclusively at the Johnson Creek bridge. Most of this work will remain outside the traveling lanes, meaning you shouldn't see much in the way of actual disruption to your drive.

FM 306

Most of the work, at this point, has been setting up a work zone and beginning to widen the roadway at Purgatory Road. Non-TxDOT crews have been relocating utilities between I-35 and Hunter Road. In February, expect the turn-lane work around Purgatory Road to intensify; drivers may see occasional slow-downs as trucks enter and exit the roadway. Meanwhile, we expect work nearer to I-35 to remain about the way it is most of this month.

Business 46

This project will pause for the summer, so crews are working to get as much prep work done as they can. They've already cleared the work zone and have laid out the retaining walls to be built. Next month crews will focus on support structures for the retaining walls, moving the excess material to help build a railroad detour to be used later in the project. Most of this work is outside the traveling lanes, so drivers shouldn't be hindered by the work.

Wurzbach Parkway

Progress continues between West Avenue and Jones-Maltsberger, with most of the work done near U.S. Highway 281. Beams were set on the future east-bound entrance ramp from Hwy 281 to the Parkway, and dirt work is progressing quickly. In February, expect work to ramp up (no pun intended) as we begin our efforts to fit the entrance and exit ramps between Nakoma and Bitters to the new Wurzbach parkway. This will mean some weekend closures of the north-bound frontage road between Arion Parkway and Bitters, scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 16-17 (more on that tomorrow).

We're still working with the responsible bonding company to get new contractors for the "book-end" sections, covering Blanco-to-West and JM-to-Wetmore.

1604-281 Interchange

Work continues - heck, they're nearing completion - on the interchange project. The good folks with the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority will be able to give you a better idea of what the most up-to-date information on that project is, so check them out (by hitting the link attached to the project name).

Fred-Med

If you've been paying attention to the media over the last few months, you may have heard we had a contractor declare bankruptcy. Fortunately, this project hadn't started yet - so we are in the process now of finding a new contractor to build this project. As soon as we have a new contractor, we'll be sure to let you know!

I-10 Huebner

Like the Fred-Med project (and two of the three segments of Wurzbach Parkway), this project has been caught in the tangle with the contractor that has declared bankruptcy. While it's frustrating to consistently drive through the area without seeing much change, we're inching closer to having a new contractor on board so we can get going again. We'll be sure to fill you in when that happens.

I-35 Selma

Wow, so much has happened ... I'm not sure just where to start. In January, we:

• Built the bridge abutment structures for the FM 3009 turnaround bridges
• Began laying out the support column structures for the FM 3009 bridges
• Removed pavement from old exit/entrance ramps to be converted between FM 1518 and Schertz Parkway
• Closed and began work on the upgrated exit ramp to Forum Parkway

Over February, the contractor will be prioritizing work at the Forum Parkway exit. Work will continue steadily at the entrance and exit ramps between FM 1518 and Schertz Parkway. We should see the support columns at FM 3009 formed and, if weather holds, built.

Vance Jackson Bridge

Not to be confused with the work the city of San Antonio is doing on Vance Jackson near Wurzbach in the city's northwest side, the work we are doing is a simple bridge overpass over Loop 1604 near The Rim (as if a bridge is all that simple...).

Anyway, the project continues smoothly - we've got abutment shelves built and work on the support columns is progressing smoothly. Look for crews to start working on column caps - large shelves on top of the support colmns. These caps will hold the support beams, which should be set in the next several weeks.

U.S. 281 Comal

This project is just getting underway, with crews just starting to lay out work areas. Expect excavation and clearing over the month of February, with most of the work happening outside the traveling lanes.

Loop 1604 Marbach

I almost forgot! We're still working on getting the Web page updated, but we're now at work and this project has moved beyond planning stages. Crews have just started working on clearing the construction zone, and have started laying the project out. Don't expect much to interfere with traffic for the month of February, but before summer things will get a little more hectic.

Main Street Boerne

If you're planning on driving through downtown Boerne late this evening, you'll need to find an alternate route to get over Cibolo Creek on Main Street.

In order for crews to set concrete barriers that will allow them to safely work on a project that will widen the bridge by some 20 feet over the next 8 months, we need to close the bridge on U.S. Highway 87, also called Main Street. Crews will begin closing the road at 9 p.m. and have things opened up again by 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Crews will also have alternating lanes closed between East Blanco to Highland while they set up their various work stations. Drivers who wish to avoid the activity altogether may get around the mess using the traditional "parade detour". If you don't happen to be a local, here's a look:

So, if you're heading north on Main Street, you'll take a right onto River Road (Highway 46) and then take a left on Esser, then a left on RM 474 at Boerne High School. You'll end up right back on Main Street. If you're headed south, you'll need to take a right onto San Antonio Avenue, a left onto South School Street and another left on West Hosack Road. That should get you where you need to go.

Truthfully, most of those driving these routes should be locals. The bridge won't be closed until late this evening, and it will be open well before the morning commute begins.

Just be aware, and know for the next eight months you'll be seeing construction activity at the bridge. These closures won't be frequent, but when they do happen we'll do our best to let you know about them.