Mail Bag: I-10, ramp speed limits, traffic shifts, future plans

Are there any plans to move the northbound Watson Ln/Old Bastrop Rd exit further south? It is difficult to see vehicles exiting onto the frontage road when trying to turn from Watson Ln East onto the access road. It seems like moving it a half to 3/4 miles south allow more room for error. I don't if dodging traffic is the cause but the guard rail on the corner of Watson Ln East & the frontage road seems to get damaged fairly often. Maybe vehicles are just coming off the exit too fast and can't make the almost immediate right turn onto Watson Ln East.
- Bob
Right now, Bob, we don't have any such plans on our list of projects. That's not to say this can't be something that gets added. Stuff like this can become a priority by pushing it through the Alamo Area MPO - a group that kind of tells us where to spend our money in the region (allowing for local-level decisions rather than state-level decisions). We'll forward the comment to our internal planners and our area office in New Braunfels as well to see if we can at least keep the area on our radar.

Will you clarify how drivers determine the speed limit on flyovers, such as the Bandera Road connector to Loop 410 and the Loop 1604 connector to Highway 151? Do we follow the speed posted on the "Exit 45 mph" sign the entire distance of the flyover, or can we accelerate to highway speed once we get into the flyover? The Bandera Road connector has no signs along the way (except the "Exit 45 mph" at the entrance). I think the 151-1604 connector might actually have a speed limit sign at the entrance - but I'm still a little unclear if that applies to the entire distance. I try to stay around 50 mph on the Bandera connector, but people ride my bumper like crazy.
- Angela
Great question, Angela. There are two types of speed limits - regulatory speeds and advisory speeds. Those yellow signs with speed limits posted are advisory speeds - meaning they're a recommended speed to maintain safety on the ramp.
According to our Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (section 2c.14) these yellow advisory speeds are placed at locations to allow you to appropriately slow down as your exiting the highway. Once you're on the ramp, we won't place additional yellow advisory speed signs unless there's a change in the "horizontal alignment". That's engineer speak for "if the road curves".
Ultimately, those advisory speeds are there to help you remain safe as you drive. We would all do well to remember it's not about getting to our destinations fastest, but about getting to our destinations the safest.
Once nearing the end of these ramps drivers should begin safe merging practices by speeding up to the normal speed of the traffic with which they're merging and continue along their way.
We hope that helps!

What does right-in, right-out mean? If I'm coming down I-10E, how do I get into Fair Oaks Ranch? If I'm in FOR, how do I get to I-10E?
- Al
For everyone else: Al asked this a few weeks ago, prior to our first major closure of I-10 at Fair Oaks Parkway.
Right-in, right-out configurations happen when access to or from a side road is right-turn only. Here's a look at an easy engineer's drawing from our manuals:

I have a question. A few years ago I-10 was under construction to make the exit and bridge for the Dominion folks - because they are the rich ones, I guess. Now we are under construction again - for WHAT? There needs to be 3 lanes going in each direction from the Rim to Fair Oaks if not all the way to Boerne. The big trucks need to stay out of the left lane - they are dangerous! Why wasn't this done in the first place instead of tearing up the highway twice and spending extra money? And are we getting 3 lanes going east and west?
- Linda
Lots of issues to address here, Linda, but we'll try and stick to the basic question we think you're asking. We think you are really wanting to know when you're getting additional lanes to I-10 between Loop 1604 and Boerne.
The shortest answer is we'll be adding those much-needed extra lanes in segments. The first segment will be between La Cantera Parkway and Ralph Fair Road. Work on that project is set to begin early fall (August/September) this year and will take about three years to build. More information on the project may be found here.
As to the issue of why we didn't do it in the first place, when we re-did the overpass at Dominion Drive? Simply put: money and permission. We didn't have all our documents ready at the time to do an expansion like this, and we didn't have the money to do more. We're sorry we couldn't do more at the time and we're excited the Texas Clear Lanes initiative has enabled us to appropriately prioritize this project now.

Hwy 151 in San Antonio - I saw the notification sign this morning that the eastbound entrance ramp to 151 at Hunt Lane will be closed 18 July. Will this be a one day closure, or long term? Also, what time will the closure begin?
- ebargainer
This is a temporary closure and will last only a couple of days to allow crews to widen the ramp. Closure info is posted weekly here.

Will we have 151 run all the way to Talley Road in the near future? And are you doing any construction Talley Road soon?
- Janie
In theory, Janie, yes! Well, sort of. The extension of Alamo Ranch Parkway further east is up to the private developers continuing to build in that area. Development of Talley Road is up to Bexar County Public Works and is on their to-do list. They'll have a better idea as to the timeframe and other details of what's going on.
The real question, then, is whether Alamo Ranch Parkway will ever be converted to Hwy 151. Right now the answer is "no", but you never know what'll happen in 10 years.

There's a sign at Military Drive and 1604 in NW SA that warns of a "traffic switch" on 7-12-2017. No info seems to be available as to what a "traffic switch" entails or what time this will be happening.
- Kim
Kim, there's no excuse. We simply dropped the ball on getting word on this out. We have info out there now, which was published Saturday. Check out all the details here.

US 281 officially on the clock

So ... yesterday was Opening Day for Major League Baseball (which some on our staff insist should be a Federal holiday, but that's another discussion for a different blog altogether).
Opening Day is about a number of things in baseball, including a newfound feeling of hope - even for those who cheer on teams who fared incredibly poorly the prior year. Like the Boston Red Sox, who went from among worst in the league in 2012 to World Series champs in 2013).
Friday marked an Opening Day of sorts for us here at TxDOT; we're hoping to help US 281 go from worst traffic in the San Antonio region in 2015 to one of the region's better-flowing corridors come 2020. That starts with a heck of a plan and project.
We aren't looking for a flash in a pan (the Sox haven't been back to the World Series since 2013...); we want to build something lasting. That takes some work, and a little patience.
But we're burying the lede here, aren't we? Here's what happened:


Groundbreaking event
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Transportation Commissioner J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., hosted members of the state legislature and officials from Bexar County, city of San Antonio and VIA Metropolitan Transit to break ground on an expansion of US Hwy 281 that will help reduce congestion for motorists in the northern reaches of the city.
That event happened Friday morning (March 31) at 10:30, right by the new VIA transit hub near Stone Oak Parkway currently under construction that will connect to a portion of the US 281 expansion.
"For 100 years, the Texas Department of Transportation has built and maintained our roads and highways, providing a safe transportation system that has helped the Texas economy grow," said Governor Abbott. "It is because of the success we have had in bringing jobs and new business to Texas that unprecedented growth has caused unprecedented congestion, making the expansion of Highway 281 so important. The voters made clear this is their priority, and I am confident TxDOT will deliver results in the form of reduced congestion."
That growth Abbot discussed is unprecedented. We're adding nearly 1,500 people every day to the state of Texas, and that growth translates to about 150 new cars in San Antonio alone every day. Because of this growth and the need for more vehicles, Abbott created the Texas Clear Lanes initiative in 2015. This task force is led by Bugg, who is not just a Texas Transportation Commissioner ... he's a San Antonio resident as well.
"The approval of Proposition 7 by 83 percent of Texas voters in 2015 and the Texas Clear Lanes initiative have allowed both phases of the US 281 expansion to move forward without tolls," Bugg said. "After years of planning by local and state leaders, the new funding has made this critical project a reality."


The project - fast facts
For those who just want a quick run-down of what's happening, here are the highlights:

• We're finishing the interchange of Loop 1604 and US 281, constructing the four remaining direct connectors.
• We're adding two new express lanes in each direction between Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway with overpasses at Redland Road, Encino Rio, Evans Road and Stone Oak Parkway.
• We're adding one non-tolled HOV lane in each direction between Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway; these lanes will follow the path of the free, non-tolled express lanes.
• Work will actually begin in May, and the project should wrap up late 2020.
• Webber Construction won the contract to build this highway with a bid of $192.3 million.

How it will impact your drive
So ... driving through construction is rarely pleasant. We get it. We do our best to make it hurt as little as possible. To do that here we're committed to continue the same level of service you're currently getting on US 281 today. That includes keeping the superstreet intact until we're ready to move traffic onto the overpasses.
The superstreet has reduced congestion levels along the US 281 corridor by more than 45 percent over the alternative of not doing anything. It's been an effective stopgap. Those who drive the corridor daily - all 100,000 of you - know well the superstreet has reached its limit. (That's kind of why we're doing this project....)

The work we need to do between Sonterra and Loop 1604 to build the new connectors north of Loop 1604 will create some significant traffic snarls and could close some of the routes a few of you take on a daily basis. That means a ramp closing for a few months, particularly with the southbound side as it goes between Sonterra and Loop 1604. When that happens we'll let you know so you can prepare and discover new routes in advance.
We'll have overnight closures from time to time, and the occasional weekend-long closure that will disrupt pretty much everything as we build the new direct connectors. Again, we'll make sure everyone has an idea of what's going on there well in advance.
For the most part, though, work will be done without major closures. You'll move through the corridor about the same way you do right now - with pretty close to the same travel times.


Final product
If a picture is worth a thousand words, we wonder how many a video would be worth. With that in mind, take a look at the visualization of what we'll have when we're all done. Pay attention to the ramp alignment (the super X configuration) allowing a smoother traffic flow, and the connector from the HOV lanes into the new VIA station at Stone Oak Parkway.

We're not done
You'll notice this work - this phase, really - ends just beyond Stone Oak Parkway. Well, we're not done with that. We're working to get started on the segment between Stone Oak Parkway and the Bexar-Comal county line as well. That's set to kick off 2019 and will take about three years to finish.

US 281 expansion about to kick off

The headline is no typo, and April Fools is still a few days away.
No, this is for real.
Unless you're a total newbie to San Antonio, you're well aware of the long saga that has been the proposed expansion of US 281 north of Loop 1604.
Friday morning Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and Texas Transportation Commissioner J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., will host state and local elected representatives and other transportation stakeholders to break ground on the expansion of U.S. 281 between Loop 1604 and the Bexar-Comal county line in north San Antonio.
Part of the expansion falls under the statewide congestion relief initiative known as Texas Clear Lanes.
The $374.3 million expansion project will be constructed in two phases. The first phase of the U.S. 281 expansion will actually begin construction in May and adds non-tolled express lanes between Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway. The Texas Tranpsortation Commission awarded the $192.3 million contract to Webber Construction last month.
The second phase, which will begin in 2019, starts just north of Stone Oak Parkway and continues to the county line.
We'll have more details next week about the project and how it will impact you during the four years it will take to complete.
The event Friday begins at 10:30 a.m. and will wrap up around 11:30 a.m. We will live-stream the event via Twitter for those interested in tuning in.