Fred-Med update: Closure of intersection scheduled

With our engineering questions about the bridge slide answered, Texas Sterling Construction will close Fredericksburg Road at Medical Drive the night of Wednesday, November 5. Thursday morning's traffic will need to seek alternate routes (we'll discuss that later).

This means the new roadway surface for Fredericksburg Road - a bridge over the future through lanes of Medical Drive - will be slid into place by Saturday. Though Texas Sterling has two full weeks (that's 14 days) to get Fredericksburg Road reopened, we're hoping to have the work done and lanes reopened in almost half that time.

This is work that was initially scheduled for early October. However, some testing of the concrete supports needed to be done in duplicate and engineering plans for the work needed to be resubmitted by Texas Sterling. With those issues wrapped up this afternoon, project bosses gave their one-week's notice of the work proceeding.

Wednesday evening, expect to see single lanes of Fredericksburg Road - and some alternating closures on Medical Drive - as crews prepare for the work. At 12:01 a.m. Thursday morning we'll have Fredericksburg Road closed down entirely. No through traffic, and  no left turns, will be permitted at this location. Traffic trying to continue on Fredericksburg Road will turn right onto Medical, then follow appropriate city streets to reach its destination. Officially, our planned detour uses Wurzbach Road, the I-10 frontage roads and Callaghan Road.

Here's an alternate route, if you're looking for some help:

After the closure is implemented Wednesday night, excavators will tear out the existing roadway and uncover bridge support structures that were constructed underground (remember those huge steel plates across the roadway? that's what those were for...). If all goes well, crews could be ready to slide the bridge decks into place by Saturday morning.

The bridges are slid on rails lined with Teflon pads and lubricated with dish soap. We have two bridge decks to slide into place, and each takes about 8-10 hours to slide.

With the bridge in place, crews will work on getting the bridge dressed up and build traffic barricades along the edge of the bridge. It'll take another couple of days to have everything ready to have traffic back in place by the end of the following week.

Once the bridge is in place, Texas Sterling says we'll be pretty well done with overnight work; the remaining work will be accomplished during the day.

As always, major weather events or equipment issues can disrupt the schedule ... but we're working hard to plan for as many contingencies as we can.

Loop 1604 expansion update

So for the average driver (that is, one who isn't a TxDOT or Williams Brothers engineer/project manager) there's not a lot going for an update on the Loop 1604 expansion project - that is, the project that will bring overpasses to the intersections of Braun, New Guilbeau and Shaenfield roads. No major road closures are happening (though occasional overnight closures are being used), so commutes aren't being disrupted.

For those curious about the progress of the job, though, here's a quick run-down on what's going on:

First, progress on the northbound frontage road between Culebra and New Guilbeau continues. Road building crews are laying down two different layers of dirt, called "sub-base", that makes up the foundation of the roadway itself. Once that sub-base is in, paving crews will lay asphalt; that's still at least a month away, though it could be later. Even with that asphalt in place, drivers shouldn't expect to start driving on that road surface for a while - and when they do begin using the frontage road, the "main lanes" will be taken out of play so crews can begin the long process of constructing overpasses.

Second, part of the frontage road construction includes small bridges over Culebra Creek, just south of New Guilbeau. Those bridges are almost ready to have beams set in place (beams are like the backbone of a bridge). No lane closures will be needed to set those beams, as bridge crews can do everything from the work area away from the roadway.

One area that could see some change in the immediate future is what used to be Leslie Road (now the southbound frontage road) between the Wildhorse subdivision and Culebra Road. Once the sub-base is in, and asphalt is placed, we'll be switching traffic over onto the left lanes. This will mean heavy work on the same side of the road as all those driveways and access points, which may require temporary (overnight or weekend) closures while crews build the road at those locations. Again, once folks see the black stuff being put on top of the dirt, that's when to start gearing up for the big switch.

Next, we've been asked a few times about the overpass at Braun Road (and the giant piles of dirt that are seen there from time to time). The work that's happening now is "out of sequence"; that is, the contractor isn't actually scheduled to be doing that work until much later in the project, but since they have the resources now they're going forward with it. This will actually speed up work on the overall project, but the overpass at Braun still won't be available for use until nearly all the work is finished. As for those large piles of dirt? Those are stockpiles. Williams Brothers is bringing dirt in from other sources and using it where needed. For instance, that sub-base we talked about above ... well, much of that is coming from the mountains of dirt that have been piled up just north of Braun Road.

Finally, the businesses near New Guilbeau and Braun Roads should begin preparing for more work headed to that area. Once the asphalt is in place for the frontage roads between New Guilbeau and Culebra, barricades will be moved to the north end of the project to allow WB to begin tying those frontage roads into the existing roadway. The wider area of Lp 1604, there near Braun Road itself, represents the future frontage roads; where the road narrows (near New Guilbeau), those are the future main lanes. The tie-in should be a simple enough process, but it will take some time.

Once all the frontage roads are built, Williams Brothers will go into full swing building the overpasses. We are on schedule to have this project completed by the end of 2016. The option to build the Hwy 151 interchange will begin late 2015 and wrap up by the end of 2017.

I-10 Huebner update

With traffic (in both directions) using the new eastbound bridge over DeZavala Road, bridge crews are in full swing to reconstruct the westbound bridge. Right now, that means a lot of demolishing, and will soon mean drilling crews to start digging the foundations for the bridge supports. Webber has six months or so to build the overpass, so they are talking about having the bridge built (and traffic using it) by early May 2015.

Near UTSA Boulevard, bridge crews are finishing up the east-to-west turnaround. Over the next few weeks, crews will be busy building the barrier along the edges of the bridge and finishing the approaches to the bridge on either side. Webber Construction says the new turnaround will "definitely" be open before Thanksgiving.

Westbound traffic routes to UTSA Boulevard continues to be an issue. The Westbound exit ramp is closed, and will remain closed for about six months, while crews work on the new eastbound bridge. The area of road to be reconstructed nearly overlaps the start of the ramp itself, making access to the ramp nearly impossible. In order to maintain the safest routes possible, the ramp is closed per the plans of the project.

Traffic headed to UTSA Boulevard will need to take the "frontage road" exit immediately west of UTSA Boulevard, then turn around at Loop 1604 and use the eastbound access to UTSA Boulevard. Students, faculty and visitors might consider using Loop 1604 to reach the campus.

New I-35 project: ramp reversals between FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg

Last week Dan Williams Company began a $5 million project to reconfigure entrance and exit ramps between FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg in New Braunfels. The work will take about a year to complete.

The idea here is to free up the intersection of FM 306 and I-35 by allowing traffic headed for locations along the access roads in each direction to skip the intersection itself. This will particularly help traffic along the northbound access road at FM 306, where large trucks headed to a transfer station along the northbound access road are currently bogging down traffic.

Overnight closures are being used to allow crews to set up the work area. Once the work zone is set up and barricades are in place, Dan Williams Company will be able to move in equipment to begin excavation. 

Crews will work on the northbound side first then move to the southbound side, spending about six months on each side of the highway. The old ramps, currently in use, will not be closed until the new ramps are complete. We are also working on the turnarounds. Work on the north-to-south turnaround is first, and will mean the turnaround will be closed for about six months.

Of the $5 million total project cost, $4.2 is direct construction costs to the contractor. The rest of the price will cover engineering and administrative fees. No additional right-of-way was needed for this project. Most of the work will be behind barrier, and beyond the closure of the turnarounds traffic won't be interrupted much through the duration of work.

Next week's construction-related closures

Interstate 10

Monday-Friday, October 27-31

9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

Frontage roads, both directions, between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close for road work. Expect delays.

 

Sunday-Friday, October 19-24

8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Frontage roads, both directions, between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close for road work. Expect delays.

 

Interstate 35

Sunday-Tuesday, October 26-28

9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

Northbound frontage road at FM 306 (New Braunfels)

The left lane will close while crews install barrier. This closure includes the north-to-south turnaround, the northbound entrance ramps from Business 35 and from FM 306. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

 

Sunday-Thursday, October 26-30

9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes between FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg (New Braunfels)

The right lane will close while crews install barrier. This closure includes the entrance ramps from Business 35 and FM 306. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

 

Sunday-Friday, October 26-31

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes between George Beach and Rittiman Road (northeast San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close for road work. Expect delays.

 

Sunday-Friday, October 26-31

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Engel Road and FM 3009 (Schertz-New Braunfels)

The right lane will close while crews resurface the road way. This includes exits 180, 178, 177 and 174B. This includes entrance ramps from Engel Road, Schwab Road and FM 1103. Traffic will exit Engel Road and re-enter the highway after FM 3009. Expect long delays.

 

Sunday-Wednesday, October 26-29

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes between FM 3009 and FM 1103 (Schertz-New Braunfels)

All lanes will close while crews resurface the roadway. Traffic will exit FM 3009 and continue along the frontage road until they reach FM 1103. Expect long delays.

 

Monday-Friday, October 26-31

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Engel Road and Schwab Road (Schertz-New Braunfels)

Alternating lanes will close while crews do roadwork. Expect delays.

 

Tuesday-Friday, October 28-31

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes between FM 1103 and Engel Road (Schertz-New Braunfels)

All lanes will close while crews repave the roadway. Traffic will exit FM 1103 and re-enter after crossing Engel Road. Expect delays.

 

Interstate 37

No closures scheduled.

 

Interstate 410

Friday-Monday, October 24-27

10 p.m. until 5 a.m. continuous

Eastbound ramp to northbound I-35 (northeast San Antonio)

The right lane will close while crews lay asphalt and restripe the road. Expect delays.

 

Loop 1604

No closures scheduled.

 

U.S. Highway 90

No closures scheduled.

 

U.S. Highway 281

Friday-Tuesday, October 24-28

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes and frontage road between Nakoma Drive and Bitters Road (north-center San Antonio)

All lanes will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will exit Nakoma Drive, turn right at Nakoma, left onto Jones-Maltsberger, left onto Bitters and return to the U.S. 281 frontage road. Expect long delays.

 

Monday-Thursday, October 27-30

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Bitters and Nakoma (north-central San Antonio)

All lanes will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will exit Bitters Road and re-enter after Nakoma Drive. Expect delays.

 

Wednesday-Saturday, October 29-November 1

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Southbound frontage road between Bitters Road and Nakoma Drive (north-central San Antonio)

All lanes will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will be diverted onto and off of the main lanes. Expect delays.

 

Other roads

Sunday-Monday, October 26-27

3 a.m. until 5 a.m. continuous

Rittiman Road at I-35 (northeast San Antonio)

All lanes will close while crews demolish old bridge structure. Traffic will turn right onto its respective frontage road and use the next available turnaround to reach its destination. Traffic being directed south toward George Beach will turn around, use the northbound frontage road to reach southbound I-410, follow that frontage road to Binz-Engleman, turn around and follow the northbound I-410 frontage road to Rittiman Road. Expect delays.

 

Tuesday-Thursday, October 28-30

9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

Westbound FM 306 at I-35 (New Braunfels)

The right lane will close while crews install barrier. Expect delays.

 

All planned lane closures are pending weather.