Next week's construction-related closures

NOTE: We will have NO closures July 3-6, inclusive, for observance of America's birthday (Fourth of July). Also, by popular demand, a tweak to the old format for this post. This should align well with what was asked for through our survey a few weeks back!

I-10 – Downtown San Antonio

• Tuesday-Friday, June 7-17. 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily (weekdays only). Eastbound frontage road between Cincinnati and Culebra roads. The left lane will close while crews do bridge repair work.

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Saturday, July 11. 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastbound main lanes between Pine Street and Roland Avenue. Alternating lanes will close while crews stripe the roadway and shift traffic into its final configuration.
• Sunday, July 12. 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Westbound main lanes between Roland Avenue and Pine Street. Alternating lanes will close while crews stripe the roadway and shift traffic into its final configuration.

I-10 – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, July 6-10. 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Frontage road, both directions between Loop 1604 and Huebner Road. Alternating lanes will close for road work.
• Monday-Friday, July 6-10. 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Huebner Road and Loop 1604. Alternating lanes will close while crews repave the roadway and work on overhead highway signs.
• Tuesday-Friday, July 7-10. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Frontage road, both directions, between Loop 1604 and Huebner Road. Alternating lanes will close for road work.

I-10 – Leon Springs/Fair Oaks Ranch

• Tuesday-Friday, July 7-10. 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, at Ralph Fair Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews do finish work on the Ralph Fair Road bridge.
• Tuesday-Wednesday, July 7-8. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Westbound frontage road between exit 550 and Ralph Fair Road. All lanes will close while crews resurface the roadway. Traffic exiting I-10 will turn east onto the two-way frontage road, turn left onto Aue Road and left onto Old Fredericksburg Road to reach Ralph Fair Road.
• Wednesday-Thursday, July 8-9. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Eastbound exit ramp to Ralph Fair Road. The exit will close while crews resurface the roadway. Traffic will use the Fair Oaks Ranch Parkway exit to reach Ralph Fair Road and Boerne Stage Road.

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 a.m. until 3:30 a.m. daily. Frontage road, both directions, between Walzem and George Beach. Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the road.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Turnarounds, both directions, at Salado Creek. The turnarounds will close while crews work on bridge support structures.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Frontage road, both directions, between Walzem and George Beach. Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the road.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Walzem and George Beach. Alternating lanes will close, two at a time, to do road work.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Turnarounds, both directions, at Salado Creek. The turnarounds will close while crews work on bridge support structures.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between AT&T Parkway and Binz-Engleman. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier and restripe the road.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Frontage road, both directions, between AT&T Parkway and Salado Creek. Alternating lanes will close while crews work on bridge support structures and set barrier.

I-35 – Windcrest area

• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road at Fratt Road. The left lane will close while crews work on curb and sidewalks.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Northbound connector to westbound I-410. The right lane will close while crews work on guardrail.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Northbound connector to westbound I-410. The right lane will close while crews do overhead bridge work.

I-410 – East San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Northbound frontage road between Greatfare and Rittiman. The left lane will close to provide a safe truck access point.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound connector to northbound I-35. All lanes will close while crew move barrier. Traffic will exit Space Center Drive, move through the Rittiman Road intersection and enter northbound I-35.

I-410 – Windcrest area

• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound connector to southbound I-35. The right lane will close while crews do road work.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Connector to northbound I-35. The right lane will close while crews do road work.

I-410 – Southwest San Antonio

• Wednesday-Friday, June 8-10. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Freeport Road and the I-35 intersection. The right lane will close while crews install barrier.

U.S. Hwy 281 – North-central San Antonio

• Monday-Tuesday, June 6-7. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Northbound frontage road between Nakoma Drive and Bitters Road. All lanes will close while crews work on the Wurzbach Parkway overpass bridge. Traffic will use Nakoma Drive, Jones-Maltsberger and Bitters Road to reach its destination.
• Tuesday-Wednesday, June 7-8. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Northbound main lanes at Wurzbach Parkway. All lanes will close while crews work on the Wurzbach Parkway overpass bridge. Traffic will exit Bitters Road and almost immediately re-enter the highway.
• Wednesday-Thursday, June 8-9. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Bitters Road and Nakoma Drive. All lanes will close while crews work on the Wurzbach Parkway overpass bridge. Traffic will exit Wurzbach Parkway-Nakoma Drive, pass through the Nakoma Drive intersection and re-enter the highway.
• Thursday-Friday, June 9-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Southbound frontage road between Bitters Road and Nakoma Drive. All lanes will close while crews work on the Wurzbach Parkway overpass bridge. Traffic will enter the main lanes and be able to re-exit the highway to reach Nakoma Drive from Bitters Road.

State Hwy 151

• Tuesday-Friday, July 7-10. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Weisman and Callahan roads. The left lane will close while crews construct the cable median barrier.

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Tuesday, July 7. 4 a.m. until 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes at Hwy 151. All lanes will close while crews move a crane. Traffic will exit Hwy 151 and re-enter the highway after the Loop 1604-Hwy 151 intersection.
• Tuesday-Friday, July 7-10. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Bandera and Culebra roads. The right lane will close in various locations, as needed, while crews do concrete work.
• Saturday, July 11. 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Braun and Culebra roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the roadway and shift all traffic onto the new frontage roads. Drivers should be aware of the change in posted speed limit to 40 miles per hour. This work was originally scheduled for June 27.

Kendall County

• Monday-Friday, July 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Hwy 46, both directions, between City Park Road and Ammann Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the roadway.

Other roads – Medical Center

• Monday-Sunday, July 6-12. 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Fredericksburg Road, both directions, between Louis Pasteur and Data Point. Alternating lanes will close while crews do roadwork.
• Monday-Sunday, July 6-12. 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Medical Drive, both directions, between Ewing Halsell and Fairhaven. Alternating lanes will close while crews do roadwork.

Other roads – East San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound Eisenhauer Road at I-35. 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.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Eisenhauer Road at I-35. The left lane will close while crews move barrier and do bridge work.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound Rittiman Road at I-35. 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.
• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Rittiman Road at I-35. The left lane will close while crews move barrier and do bridge work.

Other roads – Windcrest area

• Monday-Friday, June 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Randolph Boulevard at I-35. Randolph Boulevard will be limited to one-way traffic control, controlled by police officers, while crews do bridge work overhead.

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday, June 8-Sunday, July 12. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Braun Road, both directions, at Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews hang bridge deck panels. 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.

Other roads – Leon Springs/Fair Oaks Ranch

• Thursday-Friday, July 9-10. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Ralph Fair Road, both directions, between I-10 and Camp Stanley. Ralph Fair Road will be limited to one-way traffic control, controlled by police officers, while crews resurface the roadway. All closures are pending weather.

Mail Bag: mowing, closures and more

Thanks to your input, we've scrapped the idea of going with a new format on our weekly lane closures and we'll return to our original format full-time. That is, closures are separated by highway, with planned closures listed chronologically by start date within each heading. Regional locations are found in parentheses in the closure information.

More than 90 percent of our respondents asked for us to return to the "old way", and that's exactly what we're doing. THANK YOU to those who provided input and helped us keep this the most effective resource for you we can make.

With that aside, let's get on to this week's (overdue!) Mail Bag:

Are there road construction-related closures on I-10 between Houston and San Antonio during the day?
- Marilinda

Though we pride ourselves on being "OneDOT" within the department (that is, we're all the same TxDOT), each district is pretty limited to a specific geographic area. This route crosses three different districts, which means you're relying on three different resources for answers here.

That said, we've tried to centralize some of that information. You should be able to find major closure information state-wide on our DriveTexas.org mobile site (do not use this while actually driving - let a passenger use it, or pull to the side of the road to use it). You'll find anything that's out of the ordinary posted there, listed and located on a handy little map. It's pretty great, actually. Any time you're traveling across this great state, you'll want to make this a part of your trip planning!

Please know, however, we don't often have closures during the day on major interstates like I-10, I-35, I-20, etc. That's just a state-wide best practice. If we have an emergency closure (like we had in Gonzalez County a couple of weeks ago), that's a bit different. But in general, we'll keep away from closures on these highways during the day.

When will the mowing be completed on Loop 1604 between Bandera and I-10?
- Zane

This is a common question all over the place, not just along Loop 1604. Routinely, TxDOT mows two times per year. The department also performs safety mowing as needed at intersections, driveways and on the inside of curves. Mowing in active construction zones may be done more often - as needed - depending on the construction contract requirements.

The first mowing cycle typically begins in mid-May to June 1 to allow wildflowers to seed. The start date is dependent on the local growing season. With the unprecedented rainfall in Texas in May, TxDOT has had difficulty getting mowing started because the roadside ditches are too wet. Mowing wet ditches is destructive and slow. The excessive rain has also prompted faster growth of vegetation and that growth will last a longer period. Mowing is now underway across the state and it will take time to get caught up.

Unfortunately, we don't have an exact schedule for all locations. We're hitting priority locations first, then moving to areas where the grass has become an eyesore. Please know we're aware of the areas that have need, and we're getting to it as quickly as we can.

By the way, the reason mowing was done from Culebra to Hausman(ish) is because that's done by a construction contractor with crews on that location all the time. Their construction limits don't reach further, so they won't mow beyond the area they've already mowed.

I was looking at the expansion of UTSA Boulevard and am off Hausman, is there any plans for a road from Hausman to UTSA more towards I-10? Like the JV Bacon road to Babcock, it would be a great addition for all the subdivisions over here. When all the work is done, it will look great, thanks for all you do.
- Eva

This idea is something we hear about from time to time - a connector between UTSA Blvd and Hausman Rd - but it's not something TxDOT would do. If this were something that would happen, that would be through the city of San Antonio.

The expansion of UTSA Boulevard is in full swing now, however. Just two weeks ago we got word from utilities companies that still had some moving to do that we were clear to proceed with our work.

For those not familiar with this project, we are expanding UTSA Boulevard (we call it Spur 53) to a five-lane road. That's two lanes each way plus a center left-turn lane. We're adding some space for those hiking or biking or jogging, plus a shoulder area. The project will take about two years to complete. The $9 million project is being built by a new-to-us contractor, SMC Contractors. They've been around, but they've not worked with us in the San Antonio area before.

The first bunch of work you can expect, Eva, will be on the south side of the road (eastbound side). Closures on this road shouldn't get kicked up until mid-July.

I hear you are now saying the Wurzbach Parkway won't be finished until the end of the year. I just want to know when the bike trail opens completely.
- Tony

Tony, where are you hearing that from? We've been trying to remain consistent in our message here. The contractor has until the end of the year to finish work on the project. However, we fully anticipate the work will finish much sooner - likely late this summer, as long as we can get some days with the sun out and the rain ... well, not out.

The bike trail that will effectively connect Hardberger Park with the rest of Salado Creek Greenway will open with the roadway. Until we're done with the road work, that area is still an active construction project and riding along the trail is discouraged and dangerous.

Fred-Med thru lanes open; more on that project

Fred-Med

As of 9:45 this morning, the through lanes on Medical Drive running under Fredericksburg Road. This is the culmination of nearly two decades of work as folks with the South Texas Medical Center Foundation to get this potentially life-saving intersection improvement finished.

The first official vehicle to use the new through lanes of Medical Drive at Fredericksburg Road was this San Antonio Fire Department ambulance, which ran through ceremoniously with lights going. Within a half hour of this, normal traffic was moving through.

The project's intent is to provide free-flowing through lanes on Medical Drive, getting through the busy intersection of Fredericksburg Road. This should reduce travel time from I-10 to hospital facilities along Medical Drive by as much as 60 seconds in emergency situations.

While the through lanes are finished, crews still have work remaining on the overall intersection. Most of that work is electrical work, being done by a subcontractors. This work includes some fixes for the issues folks are seeing with the traffic signals on the surface level of the intersection.

Expect to see crews working around-the-clock, though not with the same intensity you've seen in previous weeks, to finish project items like sidewalk and curb work. Overnight work through this week will allow striping crews to finish the striping on the new road lanes (right now we have reflective lane marking tabs). Texas Sterling Construction also has some landscaping work left, and that will be the last bit of work to be finished.

Since we've had a couple of questions related to the Fred-Med project hit our mailbag, it just seems appropriate to answer them here....

The Fred-Med project looks like a great, unique solution to the traffic in that area. Are there plans to employ a similar solution elsewhere in the area?

-Bill

 

In short, not right now. Though if there are some locations something like this would make sense, we'd certainly be up for it. Keep in mind that, after all the right-of-way was acquired and the project was finished out, this endeavor cost around $20 million. There's a lot we could do with $20 million....

I don't know if you guys are still reconsidering the placement of the signals at Fred-Med, but if you are or if you do in the future, may I suggest going with mast arms adjusted to be positioned closer to the center of the intersection so turning traffic doesn't stop in the middle and clog up traffic?
- Brian

Right now we have a series of fixes for the issue you're describing. Yes, people are still turning left onto Fredericksburg Road and stopping mid-intersection. They shouldn't be, but they are. We've got louvers planned to be placed in the signal, and those are designed to restrict visibility to where only traffic intended to be controlled by those signals can see them (or see the light color). If that doesn't work, our partners with the city of San Antonio have suggested mounting some signals on the pedestrian poles - a slightly more expensive fix, but something that's doable.

If THAT doesn't do the trick, we'll need to look into something a little more expensive. That may include a set-up similar to what you're suggesting, with a truss spanning the intersection and holding the signals for the whole shebang. That's not done anywhere else around town, but this is a fairly unique intersection as it is....

Next week's construction-related closures

No closures will happen for construction projects July 3-6, inclusive.
 
I-10

• Tuesday, June 23-Thursday, July 2. Eastbound frontage road between Cincinnati and Culebra roads (downtown). The left lane will close while crews do bridge work.
• Friday-Monday, June 26-29. 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. continuous. Westbound main lanes between Huebner Road and UTSA Boulevard (northwest San Antonio). The right lanes will close while crews remove and replace asphalt to repair the road. The two left lanes will remain open through the weekend. No ramps are planned to be closed for this work.
• Saturday, June 27. 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastbound main lanes between I-37 and Roland Avenue (east San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road.
• Sunday-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 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-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 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.
• Sunday-Wednesday, June 28-July 1. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Westbound main lanes between Roland Avenue and Pine Street (east San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt.
• Monday-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 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-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, at Ralph Fair Road (Fair Oaks Ranch). Alternating lanes will close while crews do finish work on the Ralph Fair Road bridge.
• Tuesday-Thursday, June 30-July 2. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Eastbound main lanes between I-37 and Roland Avenue (east San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road.

I-35

• Sunday-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes at Randolph Boulevard (Windcrest). The right lane will close while crews set barrier and drill bridge support foundations. This closure includes the Randolph Boulevard exit ramp from eastbound I-410.
• Sunday-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Eisenhauer and Rittiman roads (east San Antonio). Alternating lanes, two at a time, will close while crews to bridge work.
• Monday-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Turnarounds, both directions, at Salado Creek (east San Antonio). The turnarounds will close while crews work on bridge support structures.
• Monday-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Turnarounds, both directions, at Salado Creek (east San Antonio). The turnarounds will close while crews work on bridge support structures.

I-410

• Sunday-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound connector to northbound I-35 (Windcrest). The right lane will close while crews do road work.

U.S. Hwy 281

• Saturday, June 27. 5 a.m. until 3 p.m. Northbound main lanes at Nakoma Drive (north-central San Antonio). All lanes will close while crews pour concrete on the Nakoma Drive turnaround bridge. Traffic will exit Nakoma Drive, pass through the intersection and re-enter the highway.

State Hwy 151

• Monday-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Weisman and Callahan roads (northwest San Antonio). The left lane will close while crews construct the cable median barrier.

Loop 1604

• Monday-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Bandera and Culebra roads (northwest San Antonio). The right lane will close in various locations, as needed, while crews do concrete work.
• Saturday, July 11. 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Braun and Culebra roads (northwest San Antonio). Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the roadway and shift all traffic onto the new frontage roads. Drivers should be aware of the change in posted speed limit to 40 miles per hour. This work was originally scheduled for June 27.

Kendall County

• Tuesday-Thursday, June 30-July 2. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Hwy 46, both directions, between City Park Road and Ammann Road (Boerne). Alternating lanes will close while crews place seal coat and asphalt.

Comal County

• Monday-Thursday, June 29-July 2. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Farm-to-Market 306 at the Guadalupe River crossing (Canyon Lake). The highway will be reduced to one-way traffic control with flaggers controlling traffic while crews work on the bridge rail.

Other roads

• Monday, June 8-Sunday, July 12. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Braun Road, both directions, at Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews hang bridge deck panels. 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.
• Sunday-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 8 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-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 8 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-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 8 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-Thursday, June 28-July 2. 8 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-Friday, June 28-July 3. 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.
• Sunday-Friday, June 28-July 3. 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.

All closures are pending weather.

Comal County roundup

We've got some stuff happening in the New Braunfels area, but it's best to show rather than just tell. Take a look: