Construction can be rained out? Really?

One of the toughest challenges about highway construction is the need to work around the weather.
Last week we saw two nights of planned work on the I-35 Selma project get rained out by sweeping rain and hail storms that have pummeled the area. That work will be rescheduled for next week.

What does all this mean?

First, the total closure of I-35 south-bound lanes at FM 3009 planned for Tuesday night and the closure of north-bound lanes planned for Wednesday night were washed out. The lanes remained open and folks weren't disrupted in their drive as we had expected.

Second, those closure dates will be rescheduled for this week. In all, drivers will see these sorts of closures nightly for most of April (except for Friday and Saturday nights). For instance, this week:

Sunday-Tuesday nights, 11 p.m. until 5:30 a.m., the south-bound lanes will be shut down.
Wednesday and Thursday nights, 11 p.m. until 5:30 a.m., the north-bound lanes will be shut down.

Remember we'll start closing some lanes at 9 p.m., but the total closure of the highway will be in effect at 11. We're redirecting traffic onto the frontage road and through the FM 3009 intersection. Folks driving through the area may want to try a different route.

Though not at FM 3009, folks should be aware of:

Monday-Tuesday nights, 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m., north-bound lanes at Loop 1604. We'll close the two right lanes while crews build a new concrete median barrier.



Frame work for the new barrier can bee seen to the left, while nearly finished barrier can be seen beyond the overpass bridge. Crews will continue to construct this new barrier and, when finished, a new entrance ramp to north-bound I-35.

The rain slowed down our work between FM 1518 and Schertz Parkway, as well - but crews have recovered pretty quickly. They've got the base layers of asphalt in place for most of the new ramps on the north-bound side, and they're finishing up laying the base for the additional roadway lanes. Pavers are now getting ready to hit hard the south-bound side in the upcoming week or so.

Once the asphalt base is in place crews can begin to lay final layers - or all but the final final layer - of asphalt and reopen the ramps for use. Project bosses were hoping to have that done by early summer.