Public meeting notice: I-10 Managed Lanes

If you've not heard, there's a lot of growth along the I-10 corridor outside Loop 1604 through the Leon Springs and Fair Oaks Ranch area. In order to meet some of that growth, we've developed a plan (with the city and the county) that would bring two new lanes of highway in each direction between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway.

These new lanes would be managed lanes. 

If you're interested in seeing the proposed concept design and providing direct feedback on this project, we're hosting a public meeting Tuesday, May 19 from 5 until 7 p.m. This will be held at the Leon Springs Baptist Church at 24133 Boerne Stage Road. The meeting will be an open-house format, with no formal presentation. Attendees may come and go as they please.

Again, here are the particulars of the meeting:
When - Tuesday, May 19. 5-7 p.m.
Where - Leon Springs Baptist Church, 24133 Boerne Stage Road
What - Open house regarding proposed managed lanes along I-10 between La Cantera Pkwy and Ralph Fair Road
Why - So you can provide input and get questions answered directly from those who plan and design these projects

Next week's construction-related closures

I-10

• Monday, May 11-Friday, May 22. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Westbound frontage road between Culebra Road and Cincinnati Avenue (downtown). The left lane will close while crews do bridge work.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Frontage road, both directions between Loop 1604 and Huebner Road (northwest San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close for road work.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews repave the roadway and work on overhead highway signs.
• Monday-Friday, May 18-22. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Frontage road, both directions, between Loop 1604 and Huebner Road (northwest San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close for road work.
• Monday-Tuesday, May 18-19. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Westbound exit ramp to Ralph Fair Road (Leon Springs). The exit ramp will close while crews resurface the road. Traffic will exit Boerne Stage Road, move through the intersection, and continue on to Ralph Fair Road to reach its destination.
• Friday-Monday, May 29-June 1. 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. continuous. Westbound exit ramp to DeZavala Road and Woodstone Drive (northwest San Antonio). The ramp will close for the weekend while crews do road work. Traffic will exit UTSA Boulevard and turn around to reach its destination. This closure was initially planned for May 8-11 but rescheduled due to weather.

I-35

• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between FM 3009 and Solms Road (Schertz-New Braunfels). Alternating lanes will close, including alternating closures of exit or entrance ramps, while crews repave the roadway.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between George Beach and Eisenhauer Road (east San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close for concrete work.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes between Walzem and George Beach (east San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier.
• Monday-Friday, May 18-22. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Northbound frontage road between Rittiman and Walzem (northeast San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close for roadwork.
• Monday-Friday, May 18-22. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road between Walzem and George Beach (northeast San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close for road work.
• Tuesday-Friday, May 19-22. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. North-to-south turnaround at Salado Creek (east San Antonio). All lanes will close while crews work on bridge support structures.

U.S. Hwy 281

• Monday-Friday, May 18-21. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between the Guadalupe River and the Bexar/Comal county line (Comal County). The left lane will close while crews work on the cable median barrier.
• Monday-Friday, May 18-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, at Nakoma Drive (north-central San Antonio). All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will exit Nakoma Drive, pass through the intersection, and re-enter the main lanes.

Loop 1604

• Monday, March 30-Sunday, May 31. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. continuous. Turnarounds, both directions, at Braun Road (northwest San Antonio). The turnarounds will close for a month while crews build bridge support columns. Traffic will move through the intersection to turn around.
• Monday-Friday, May 18-22. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Bandera and Culebra roads (northwest San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close as needed for survey work.
• Wednesday-Thursday, May 20-21. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Northbound main lanes between Culebra and Shaenfield roads (northwest San Antonio). The right lane will close while crews move barrier.

Other roads

• Monday, March 30-Monday, June 8. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. continuous. Walnut Avenue, both directions, between Floral and Wood avenues (New Braunfels). All lanes will close for a month while crews build a drain structure. Local traffic will have access to businesses on this block via Lockner and Howard roads.
• Monday-Friday, May 11-22. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. New Guilbeau Road, both directions, at Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio).  Alternating lanes will close while crews install signal poles and do roadwork.
• Thursday, May 14-Saturday, May 23. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. continuous. Shaenfield Road, both directions, at Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio). All but one lane in each direction will close while crews reconstruct the intersection to fit the new southbound frontage road.
• Thursday, May 14-Thursday, May 22. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. continuous. New Guilbeau Road, both directions, at Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio). All but one lane in each direction will close while crews reconstruct the intersection to fit the new northbound frontage road.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound Eisenhauer Road at I-35 (east San Antonio). All lanes will close while crews move barrier and do bridge work. Traffic will use the I-35 frontage road to the next intersection and turn around to reach its destination.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Eisenhauer Road at I-35 (east San Antonio). The left lane will close while crews move barrier and do bridge work.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound Rittiman Road at I-35 (east San Antonio). All lanes will close while crews move barrier and do bridge work. Traffic will use the I-35 frontage road to the next intersection and turn around to reach its destination.
• Sunday-Friday, May 17-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Rittiman  Road at I-35 (east San Antonio). The left lane will close while crews move barrier and do bridge work.
• Sunday-Saturday, May 17-23. 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Medical Drive, both directions, between Ewing Halsell and Fairhaven Street (Medical Center). Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work.
• Sunday-Saturday, May 17-23. 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Fredericksburg Road, both directions, between Louis Pasteur and Data Point (Medical Center). Alternating lanes will close while crews do roadwork.
• Monday-Friday, May 18-21. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. U.S. Hwy 181, both directions, between South Presa and Loop 1604 (southeast Bexar County). The left lane will close while crews refresh pavement markings.
• Tuesday-Thursday, May 19-21. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Hwy 46 at Business 87 (Boerne). The right lane will close while crews remove barrier.
• Thursday-Saturday, May 21-23. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. continuous. Bowens Crossing, both directions, at Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews rebuild the intersection. Traffic will be limited to one-way only. Restricted traffic should use New Guilbeau to reach its destination.
• Friday-Monday, May 29-June 1. 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. continuous. Fredericksburg Road, both directions, between Louis Pasteur and Data Point (Medical Center). All lanes will close while crews reconstruct the road. Traffic will use Wurzbach Road, Ewing Hallsell and Louis Pasteur to reach its destination. Traffic on Medical Drive will use the new through lanes. This closure was initially planned for May 8-11 but rescheduled due to weather.
• Saturday-Sunday, May 30-31. 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily. Braun Road, both directions, at Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews hang bridge support beams. Eastbound traffic will travel south on Loop 1604 and turn around after Shaenfield Road to reach northbound Loop 1604. Westbound traffic will travel north on Loop 1604 and turn around at Bandera Road to reach southbound Loop 1604.

All closures are pending weather

Additional closures this week

US 281
Last night Williams Brothers Construction closed all main lanes of northbound U.S. 281 at Nakoma Drive, pushing traffic onto the frontage road. This allowed bridge crews to do bridge work on the future south-to-north turnaround, which crews set beams to form over the weekend.

Expect to see the same closure tonight (Wednesday) from 9 o'clock until tomorrow morning at 5. Thursday and Friday nights Williams Brothers will close the southbound lanes in a similar manner.

These closures had initially been planned as "alternating" closures, meaning one or two lanes would close at a time. That changed to full closures when project managers discussed a potential for speedier, less expensive work. That's what we're implementing now. Williams Brothers provided the contractually obligated 48 hours notice for the lane closure, but they missed the window to have the closure posted in Friday's report.

While weather can impact the work requiring these closures, don't expect to see these closures pushed back. The work can be done even in the rain. Again, here's the closure info:

• Tuesday night and Wednesday night, 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes of U.S. 281 at Nakoma. All lanes will close for overhead bridge work. Traffic will exit Nakoma and re-enter after passing through the intersection.
• Thursday night and Friday night, 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes of U.S. 281 at Nakoma. All lanes will close for overhead bridge work. Traffic will exit Nakoma and re-enter after passing through the intersection.

 I-10
As a reminder, the westbound exit ramp to DeZavala Road will close this weekend while crews resurface the road. This closure is extremely dependent on the weather and could be pushed back for the second straight week. If so, it will be rescheduled for May 29-June1.

Webber Construction will close the ramp - and the main lanes leading up to the ramp, leaving just three lanes open on the westbound side - around 9 p.m. Friday. Everything will be reopened by Monday morning's 5 o'clock commute. The work may not require all that allotted time, though, and we hope to be finished much earlier than Monday morning.

Those traveling west and headed to DeZavala have to main options. First, they can exit UTSA Boulevard and turn around, approaching DeZavala on the eastbound side. Otherwise they can exit Huebner Road and pass through the intersection at Huebner to continue along the westbound frontage road.

Again, all this is incredibly weather-dependent; we can't lay asphalt on wet ground. If making this happen is possible, though, we expect to move forward with the plan.

Fred-Med
Portable changeable message boards (those orange trailers with digital messages on them) have announced for a week the weekend closure of the intersection. This means Fredericksburg Road will be closed to all traffic at Medical Drive, and turning traffic on Medical will be closed at Fredericksburg Road. Through traffic on Medical Drive will be able to continue along their way, using a portion of the new underpass being constructed.

Fredericksburg Road traffic will use Wurzbach, Ewing Halsell and Louis Pasteur to get around the intersection. Traffic on Medical Drive will turn onto Ewing Halsell to reach Fredericksburg Road.

With the intersection closed Texas Sterling Construction will resurface the intersection, lay down new pavement markings and work on the traffic signals. This work could take every bit of the scheduled time over the weekend, but will result in a cleaner-running intersection than drivers have known over recent months.

Again, if wet weather hits through the weekend this work will be pushed back to May 29-June 1.

I-10 frontage roads in Leon Springs

Can we all just agree now to refer to the conversion of I-10 frontage roads between Dominion Drive and Boerne Stage Road as the I-10 Leon Springs project? If so, that'll be the tag we use on this project moving forward - "I-10 Leon Springs".

We just don't want to confuse this project with the county's work on Boerne Stage Road - which is using the same contractor and is scheduled to finish later this year, according to their latest posted report. So we'll call the Boerne Stage Road project - which is being done by Bexar County Public Works, not TxDOT - the Boerne Stage Road project. We'll call the I-10 project between Dominion Drive and Boerne Stage Road the I-10 Leon Springs project.

Alrighty, with that business aside, we'll move on to actual work on the project.

Obviously there's a ton of work going on along the new frontage road that's being built behind Leon Springs Elementary School. This frontage road will carry traffic along westbound I-10 to Boerne Stage Road, relieving traffic through Leon Springs itself, when we're all through with the work. This new frontage road work includes the construction of a west-to-east turnaround and some expansion of Boerne Stage Road at I-10. This is probably the heaviest work on the project, and will take about a year to finish up (we're a couple short months into that work at this point).

The bulk of work - and certainly the most obvious - is being done on Boerne Stage Road under I-10.

Truth is, there's a major utility conflict at the intersection with an AT&T/Quest line running through the area. We've got some location information sent to a designer working on the utility's behalf, but right now the ball is in their court in terms of getting those utility lines moved. Meanwhile, Texas Sterling Construction is doing all they can at the area without the utility line relocation. Credit those guys for moving forward right now rather than just stopping and not doing much of anything until the issue is totally resolved.

Elsewhere on the job, dirt crews are preparing to do some widening work for a new east-to-west turnaround near Dominion Drive by the end of the month. Gas lines are being relocated across the job, though some conflicts with CPS Energy are being worked out before some of those lines (many of which were planned to be moved last week) can be worked on. Texas Sterling's schedule shows work on the new gas lines to be ongoing through the first part of June.

Low-profile barrier is set along the future west-bound frontage road just west of Dominion Drive to facilitate work on drain structures and retaining walls.

A new park-and-ride location is being finished up along the frontage road between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road. This is a permanent location for the park-and-ride, which was displaced by the new westbound frontage road. We're struggling to do the asphalt work with the seal coat priming with the weather we've had recently; we simply can't do it with rain. Once the primer is down a few days need to pass without wet weather. Then Texas Sterling's subcontractor will lay the asphalt down and have the new park-and-ride finished and in operation.

The new park-and-ride, located along the frontage road between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road, is being built here on the left side of the road as you travel west.

Texas Sterling has plans to begin work on a culvert along the frontage road between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road as well - this work will be almost right where the westbound exit ramp lands onto the frontage road and right where the eastbound entrance ramp begins (on the frontage road). Traffic patterns through there will mean traffic along the frontage road will need to yield to traffic from I-10, but expect to see some added orange barrels before that work starts. TSC expects to have dirt crews digging before the holiday weekend this month.

As TSC moves to this location, where the westbound exit ramp to Ralph Fair Road dumps into the frontage road expect to see the westbound lane shifted to the left, yielding to traffic exiting from the main lanes. This configuration should only last a few weeks.

As a reminder for those driving through the project area, speed limits have dropped (it's a safety thing). On the frontage roads between Boerne Stage and Dominion Drive, speed limits have been reduced to 45 miles per hour. On the main lanes of the highway, the speed limit is being dropped to 65 miles per hour. Keep in mind this is an active work zone, and if you receive a reminder from a law enforcement official and he or she notes on that reminder there were workers present, the fee for such a reminder will double and cannot be negotiated by taking a defensive driving course. For real - look it up! The easy way to stay out of trouble is to simply slow down.

This project is scheduled to finish mid-2016.

Mail bag: you've got questions, we've got answers

A week or two ago we quietly added a "contact us" form to the blog. If you've not noticed, look to the left of the screen. Find it yet? Yeah, you can type up whatever you're wanting to know in that box and it's sent directly to us.

This was done with some cautious optimism. This site is not intended for official feedback regarding TxDOT transportation projects. In fact, if you're wanting to request we do some work in a particular area take a look at the Alamo Area MPO - they're the ones who tell us what to do with our money here in the San Antonio area (and in Comal County, and in Guadalupe County, and in the city of Boerne...). Yes, that's an extremely basic and rudimentary description of the relationship between the MPO and TxDOT, but it gets the point across.

Bottom line: if you're interested in telling us what kind of project you'd like to see us do, talk to the MPO. If you've got a question about an active project, use the comment form on the left of your screen.

Alright, with all that said, it's time to grab out of the mail bag. We'll try to do this at least twice a month (if we've got enough questions!) moving forward: 

Every morning I have to get to 1604 from Hausman to avoid going to the I-10 and DeZavala intersection since it takes 4 or more light changes to get through. I go around to UTSA Blvd off Roadrunner Drive and I think it would help out all the traffic if there was a road like JV Bacon going from Hausman to UTSA Blvd. Might that be a possibility? Something in the works with all the construction going on here? It would be great! ...Just wondering and hoping.

- Eva

Well, Eva, you've got a few questions going on here. So let's take them one at a time....

The light cycles at I-10 and DeZavala should be improved for you now we have the turnarounds open during daytime hours. Beyond that, well, we've worked with the city of San Antonio to optimize those lights. In fact, the city is the lead on signal timing across the city - even on our roadways. There are a handful of intersections we maintain total control of, but the rule of thumb is the city maintains control.

The JV Bacon route is a city street, and the city should be thanked (or at least the contractor building stuff along that corridor who built JV Bacon and handed it over to the city). Hausman Road is also a city street, and the construction there is overseen by the city.

To get to brass tacks, any additional cross streets would be developed by the city and not by TxDOT. The good folks at your city council office can explain that process a little better, or you could go through the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Any update when the Spring Branch post office will be relocated to complete construction on Hwy 281?

- Ray

Great question, Ray. For those who aren't already familiar, the question is about the U.S. 281 expansion through Comal County, where a part of the project had to be altered because of a right-of-way issue involving the U.S. Post Office in Spring Branch. You can see more about this project here.

At this point, the project has been finished. What we did was build a "temporary" detour around the post office you're driving on now, and intend to keep that in place until we're ready to "finish" the road. Last time we checked, we were at least a year away from the post office relocating (that's all in their court). Once the post office is somewhere else, we'll find another contractor to demolish the building and build the rest of the road (there's not much to build). With the road complete, they'll obliterate the detour and put things as we had initially designed. The construction process should only take 4-6 months, but we don't anticipate beginning that until after 2016.

What is the status of the new bridge at Ralph Fair Road? Looks ready to be used but still not open.

- Jason 

The toughest part of construction, I think, is seeing a near-finished project you've patiently waited through a variety of closures to see crews work on. It looks like it's ready to use, but it's not quite there yet. That's the case with the new Ralph Fair Road (FM 3351) overpass at I-10.

We've still got a few smaller items to finish on the bridge, though you'll see traffic move over to use the "full" bridge in the next week or so. That will still only mean one lane each direction, allowing crews to match the first half of the bridge with the second. We anticipate having the full bridge open and in use by the end of this month - as long as weather holds.

One thing that I never see mentioned but I believe is tied in with the Wurzbach Parkway project is the construction of the Salado Creek Greenway between West Ave and Jones-Maltsberger. Will it open at the same time as WP or sooner or later? Thank you.

- Bob

Bob, you're absolutely correct. Along with constructing new parkway lanes (like an expressway, but slower...), we're extending the Salado Creek Greenway so that, when we're finished, the greenway will connect Hardberger Park with McAllister Park. Because of the needs to maintain the roadway portion, which weaves in and out of the trail (shown here in yellow), as a safe work zone, the new greenway remains closed until the parkway if finished. That is currently planned for this summer.

So, to those of you who like walking/hiking/biking the greenways (and there should be more of you out there than there currently are!), we'll ask you to remain patient much the same way we ask drivers who look forward to that final segment of the parkway to be finished. We're in the home stretch!

I'm a huge fan of your blog and truly appreciate being informed about construction in San Antonio. I have a suggestion for the blog: a summary of the work at 1-10 between Huebner and 1604 including before and after photos, if available. As a driver who passes this section of road each day, I can "feel" the difference but can't quite remember what it was like before the construction started. A good summary with photos can help us, the commuters, really appreciate all the work that has been done. Thanks for considering. 

- Amjed

Amjed, thanks for your fanhood. Spread the word! You've made a fine suggestion, so here's a peek:

Westbound main lanes at the old Woodstone/new DeZavala exit. Old is on the left, new on the right.

From the west-to-east turnaround at UTSA Boulevard, this look eastward shows a before-and-after look at the main lanes over DeZavala Road. The left photo was taken in 2013, after Webber Construction took over the project from Ballenger Construction. The photo at right was taken earlier this month.

I know that's not the best look at what you were hoping for, but finding a good "before" photo from UTSA Boulevard was tough to find!

There you go - our first "Mail Bag" entry. Have a question you'd like answered? Send us your question in the form on the left!