Wurzbach Parkway: The next chapter

Yes, the saga of Wurzbach Parkway continues.

Brief history
A collector and arterial route serving north-central San Antonio and crossing US 281 was drawn up in the early 1980s. This route was built piece-by-piece as money became available, with the final three segments starting construction back in 2011. The final segment, connecting West Avenue to Jones-Maltsberger, opened up September 2014.
With the final segment open and Wurzbach Parkway in full use, we kind of thought we'd be done talking about it here on the Go Ahead! blog. We were wrong. We've had more than a half-dozen posts on the Parkway since it opened, though admittedly many were about requests from stakeholders to raise the speed limits.
Now the speed limits are up, folks have been clamoring for help getting traffic through the Northwest Military and Lockhill-Selma intersections. Well, in true Wurzbach Parkway fashion, we're fixing this in pieces.

Public input
If you get frustrated being stuck at that signal at Northwest Military Highway during peak traffic hours, we need to hear from you.
Not so fast! Don't go emailing us just yet. Instead, we want to chat with you in person. Tonight.
We'll be at Oak Meadow Elementary School between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to discuss the plan we've got worked out to get traffic through the Northwest Military intersection and improve traffic flow up to Lockhill Selma.
The idea is pretty cool, and looks a lot like the intersection of Fredericksburg Road at Medical Drive. It also involves a fancy intersection called a SPUI, or single-point urban interchange. (You can read about these things here, then come ready to chat with us about them at the open house. An animation on how a SPUI works is found here.)

If you can't make it
We'll have the materials posted on our web site here later this week. It'll include the powerpoint we show at the meeting as well as any relevant schematics and a video animation of the intersection. You'll also find appropriate contact info there to let us know what you think.
Whether you're at the meeting or not, if you don't speak up we won't know what you're thinking and considerations you are thinking of may get missed! We are, after all, only human!

This week's construction-related closures

*Sorry for the delay - we were out of the office Friday and didn't have a chance to post this over the weekend.

I-10 – Northwest San Antonio

• Tuesday-Friday, February 28-March 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes between Ralph Fair Road and Fair Oaks Parkway. The left lane will close while crews do road work. 
• Thursday-Friday, March 2-3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road. The right lane will close while crews move barrier. 

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Wednesday-Thursday, March 1-2. 7:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. Westbound frontage road between FM 1518 and Woodlake Parkway. Alternating lanes will close while crews install storm drains. 
• Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. until Monday, March 6 at 5 a.m. Westbound frontage road between FM 1518 and Woodlake Parkway. The frontage road will close while crews install storm drain. Traffic will use Foster Road and FM 1518 to reach its destination. 

I-35 – New Braunfels

• Wednesday-Thursday, March 1-2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Northbound main lanes at Walnut Avenue. All lanes will close while crews set barrier for road repair work. Traffic will exit Walnut Avenue, continue through the intersection and re-enter the highway. This closure is a re-schedule from the night of Sunday, February 26. 
• Thursday, March 2 at 5 a.m. until Monday, March 20 at 10 p.m. Northbound main lanes at Walnut Avenue. The right lane will remain closed while crews repair the road. This closure includes the northbound on-ramp from Spur Street. Traffic will continue along the frontage road and use the next available ramp. 

I-35 – Downtown San Antonio

• Wednesday, March 1 until Friday, March 10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes between Nogalitos and U.S. Hwy 90. Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the road. 

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until April 30, 2017. Northbound exit to Culebra Road. The exit will close while crews widen the main lanes and frontage road. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and get to Culebra on the southbound frontage road. 
• Monday-Friday, February 27-March 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound frontage road between Hwy 151 and Military Drive. All lanes will close while crews set concrete beams. Traffic will use Military Drive to move from Hwy 151 and I-410. 
• Monday-Friday, February 27-March 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Hwy 151 and Military Drive. The right lanes will close while crews move barrier. 
• Monday, February 27-Monday, March 6. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between U.S. Hwy 90 and Marbach Road. The left lane will close while crews set barrier. 

U.S. Hwy 90 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current through February 28. Eastbound frontage road between Hunt Lane and Ray Ellison Boulevard. The left lane will close to allow for utility work. 
• Current until Tuesday, February 28. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes between the Medio Creek Bridge and I-410. The right lane will close while crews set barrier. 
• Wednesday-Thursday, March 1-2. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Westbound main lanes at the Loop 1604 exit ramp. The right lane will close while crews do asphalt work. This closure includes the westbound exit to Loop 1604. Traffic will take the next exit and turn around to reach Loop 1604. 

U.S. Hwy 90 – Downtown San Antonio

• Current through May 1. Eastbound exit ramp to I-35. The ramp has been reduced to a single lane while crews do bridge repair work. 

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until August 31. Westbound exit ramp to Hunt Lane. The exit will close while crews work on retaining walls. Traffic will exit Ingram Road and follow the frontage road to reach its destination. 
• Current until Friday, March 31. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes and frontage road between Ingram Road and I-410. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Main lane traffic will exit I-410 and join frontage road traffic to follow the posted detour. 
• Monday-Friday, February 27-March 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between I-410 and Hunt Lane. The left lane will close while crews set barrier. 

Other roads – Seguin

• Current until August 31. Austin Street between Martindale and Seidman. The road will be converted to one-way only, moving southbound, while crews do road work. Northbound traffic will use Guadalupe Street to reach its destination. 

Other roads – Boerne

• Thursday-Friday, March 2-3. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Highway 46, both directions, at Cinco Lane. Alternating lanes will close while crews install guardrail. One-way traffic will be controlled by a flagger. 

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, February 27-March 3. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Potranco Road, both directions, between Clover Creek and Hwy 151. The left lane will close while crews install raised concrete medians. 

All closures are pending weather.

Yup. We're resurfacing I-35 in New Braunfels.

It's a request we get frequently from folks in the New Braunfels area - a request to fix the road surface of I-35, particularly through the southern half of the city.
Starting February 26 we'll be doing just that. A $6.3 million project done by Angel Brothers Construction will resurface the road and repair the pavement base at locations identified by engineers as being in some serious need of help. The section of I-35 we'll be working on runs between Solms Road and FM 725 - a 4.3-mile stretch.
Work should wrap up late fall of this year.
So how does this impact you? Monday morning we'll have the northbound lanes trimmed down to two lanes at Walnut Avenue. We'll also have the on-ramp from Spur Street closed (traffic will continue through the Walnut intersection and use the next available ramp). That will last about three weeks before crews do the same thing on the southbound side.
The first work to do will be those structural repairs to the road - kind of like performing a root canal in dentistry. Once the structural repairs are all finished on this job we'll come back and give the road a final surface (like a crown). Drivers may see less-than-perfect (but totally safe) driving surfaces over the summer before we can get that final surface in.
Expect to see nightly closures as the project moves forward, with a handful of total closures of the main lanes - which will only last overnight. One of those total closures will come Sunday night, with the two right lanes closing at 9 p.m. and all lanes shutting down by 11 p.m. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
Look for closure information on our weekly lane closures report right here at the Go Ahead! blog.

Next week's construction-related closures

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Current until Monday, February 20. 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Frontage road on the westbound between Foster Road and FM 1516. Alternating lanes will close as needed while crews work on underground drain structures. This frontage road is a two-way frontage road and traffic control officers will direct traffic during these closures. 
• Friday, February 17 at 7 p.m. until Monday, February 20 at 5 a.m. Westbound frontage road at Woodlake Parkway. All lanes will close while crews build storm drain structures. Traffic will use Foster Road, FM 1516 and the two-way frontage road on the eastbound side to reach its destination. 

I-35 – New Braunfels

• Sunday-Monday, February 26-27. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. Northbound main lanes at Walnut Avenue. All lanes will close while crews set barrier for road repair work. Traffic will exit Walnut Avenue, continue through the intersection and re-enter the highway. 

I-35 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Monday, February 19-20. 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Eisenhauer and Rittiman roads. The two right lanes will close while crews set barrier. This closure includes the exit to Rittiman Road. Traffic will exit George Beach, turn around and reach Rittiman Road from the northbound direction. 

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until April 30, 2017. Northbound exit to Culebra Road. The exit will close while crews widen the main lanes and frontage road. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and get to Culebra on the southbound frontage road. 
• Current until Tuesday, February 28. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Frontage roads, both directions, between US Hwy 90 and I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier and do drainage work. 
• Current until Tuesday, February 28. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between US Hwy 90 and I-410. The left lane will close while crews set barrier. 
• Monday-Friday, February 20-24. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound frontage road between Hwy 151 and Military Drive. All lanes will close while crews set bridge support beams overhead. Traffic will use Military Drive to move between the frontage roads of Hwy 151 and I-410. 

U.S. Hwy 90 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current through February 28. Eastbound frontage road between Hunt Lane and Ray Ellison Boulevard. The left lane will close to allow for utility work. 
• Current until Tuesday, February 28. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes between the Medio Creek Bridge and I-410. The right lane will close while crews set barrier. 

U.S. Hwy 90 – Downtown San Antonio

• Current through May 1. Eastbound exit ramp to I-35. The ramp has been reduced to a single lane while crews do bridge repair work. 

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until August 31. Westbound exit ramp to Hunt Lane. The exit will close while crews work on retaining walls. Traffic will exit Ingram Road and follow the frontage road to reach its destination. 
• Current until Tuesday, February 28. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes and frontage road between Ingram Road and I-410. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Main lane traffic will exit I-410 and join frontage road traffic to follow the posted detour. 
• Saturday-Sunday, February 18-19. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Eastbound frontage road between Ingram Road and I-410. All lanes will close while crews pour concrete overhead. Traffic will turn right onto Cable Ranch Road, right onto Vista West Drive and right again onto the southbound frontage road if I-410 before turning around at Marbach to reach its destination. 

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Saturday, February 18. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Southbound frontage road between Hwy 151 and Valley Meadow. The left lane will close while crews install guardrail. 

Other roads – Seguin

• Current until August 31. Austin Street between Martindale and Seidman. The road will be converted to one-way only, moving southbound, while crews do road work. Northbound traffic will use Guadalupe Street to reach its destination. 

Other roads – Boerne

• Friday, February 17 at 9 p.m. until Monday, February 20 at 5 a.m. Scenic Loop Road, both directions, at I-10. All lanes will close while crews remove the old eastbound main lane bridge. Traffic will use the crossover at Balcones Creek to reach its destination. 

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, February 20-24. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Potranco Road, both directions, between Clover Creek and Hwy 151. The left lane will close while crews install a raised concrete median.

All closures are pending weather.

Scenic Loop Road to close this weekend

If you're in Boerne, or planning to be around Boerne, this weekend you'll want to know about this - pass word along to your friends.
Remember last weekend, where we shifted traffic over a bit on the I-10 main lanes over Scenic Loop Road? Like, a lot a bit, really. For those who aren't familiar, here's what we did:

Well, with traffic off the old eastbound main lanes we're ready to wreck that old bridge to build the new one in its place. These bridge demolition weekends always mean some fairly substantial closures.
The good news: this work shouldn't impact the main lanes of I-10 at all. We'll be tearing down the existing (old) bridge, which doesn't have traffic on it. The debris falls down onto the road underneath and is hauled off.
That leaves the impact right there on the intersection of Scenic Loop Road itself. We'll have SLR closed for the weekend, starting Friday night around 9. We'll have it reopened by Monday morning at 5. Traffic going under I-10 here will be diverted to the access road at Balcones Creek (toward San Antonio) or to Business 87 (South Main). Here's a quick look (those who live, work and play in the area will be quite familiar ... for others, we'll have signs posted):