Next week's construction-related highway closures

Over holiday weekends like Labor Day, we like to avoid being "in the way" ... and we like to enjoy the holiday ourselves! Please note we have no planned closures for this weekend....

 

Interstate 10

Tuesday-Friday, Sept. 3-6

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Eastbound main lanes between Loop 1604 and Huebner Road (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews set concrete barrier and build light poles. This closure includes the exit ramps to DeZavala Road, UTSA Boulevard and Fredericksburg Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect long delays.

 

Tuesday-Friday, Sept. 3-6

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Westbound main lanes between Ramsgate Road and UTSA Boulevard (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews set concrete barrier and build light poles. This closure includes the exit ramp to UTSA Boulevard and the entrance ramp from Huebner Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

 

Thursday-Friday, Sept. 5-6

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Eastbound frontage road between UTSA Boulevard and DeZavala Road (northwest San Antonio)

The left lane will close to allow haul trucks to safely enter and exit the roadway. Expect delays.

 

Interstate 35

Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 3-5

10 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Laredo Street and Malone (downtown)

Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the road. Expect delays.

 

Tuesday-Friday, Sept. 3-6

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Main lanes between Olympia Parkway and Schertz Parkway (Live Oak-Selma)

The left and right lanes will close while crews construct center median barrier and overhead highway signs. This will leave a single lane in each direction. Expect long delays.

 

Interstate 37

Tuesday-Friday, Sept. 3-6

6 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between state Highway 181 and the Atascosa River (southeast Bexar County)

Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the road. Expect delays.

 

Interstate 410

No lane closures scheduled.

 

Loop 1604

No lane closures scheduled.

 

U.S. Highway 90

No lane closures scheduled.

 

U.S. Highway 281

No lane closures scheduled.

 

Other roads

Tuesday-Friday, Sept. 3-6

8 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

FM 2696 (Blanco Road) at Wurzbach Parkway (north San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the roadway. Law enforcement will direct traffic. Expect delays.

 

Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 3-5

8 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

FM 3009 at FM 2252 (Comal County)

Alternating lanes will close while crews lay a final surface of asphalt. Expect delays.

 

Monday, Sept. 9

5 a.m.

Business 46 (Seguin Avenue) between Nacogdoches and Hampe streets (New Braunfels)

Seguin Avenue will close at the UPRR crossing for six months while crews widen the road and rebuild the railroad overpass. Traffic will use Nacogdoches Street, Comal Avenue and Hampe Street. Expect long delays.

 

All planned lane closures are pending weather.

Parkway Progress ... the latest edition....

 

The next big thing: Loop 1604 at I-35 (northeast SA)

Drivers on the northeast side might soon take note of message boards warning of the closure of the ramp from Loop 1604 to northbound I-35.

That's the ramp that handles all traffic from Loop 1604 onto northbound I-35. The ramp getting folks onto southbound I-35 will not be impacted.

The ramp needs to close for about a month while our construction contractor works on what's called a straddle bent, or a support structure, that will hold up the bridged northbound ramp from I-35 to Forum Parkway. Traffic will use the Pat Booker Road exit, and reach northbound I-35 by utilizing the frontage roads and going through the Forum Parkway intersection.

With the Loop 1604 ramps to northbound I-35 closed, traffic will be diverted through Pat Booker Road and will use frontage roads to reach their destinations.

And yes, we know. This will probably get ugly.

For those who live, work and play in this area routinely, you'll find some respite by using some alternate routes. I recommend using FM 2252 - also called Nacogdoches Road inside Loop 1604 - which connects Loop 1604 and FM 3009. FM 78, which runs through Universal City, is another viable route.

You might have a few ideas of your own. I encourage you to explore them now so you're ready to roll when we start this work.

One last point, just for emphasis: I do not yet have an exact starting date for this traffic change. However, it is coming soon, and will likely last about a month (give or take a week).

And that's the plan for now.

The week ahead in construction-related road closures....

That time of the week again - time to see where we'll be working next week.

Don't forget about the closure on US 281 this weekend! All main lanes will be closed at Donella while we remove the beam damaged last week when a truck hit it. We should be out of the way and have lanes open in time for Monday's commute.

Update - Hunter Industries, of San Marcos, finished the US 281 work a FULL DAY AND A HALF EARLY!
 

Interstate 10

Tuesday-Friday, August 27-30
9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly
Eastbound main lanes between Loop 1604 and Fredericksburg Road (northwest San Antonio)
Alternating lanes will close while crews move and set concrete traffic barriers. This closure includes the exit ramps to DeZavala Road and to UTSA Boulevard, and the entrance ramp from UTSA Boulevard. Traffic will use next available ramp and turnaround. Expect delays.

Tuesday-Friday, August 27-30

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly
Westbound main lanes between Fredericksburg Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)
Alternating lanes will close while crews move and set concrete traffic barriers. Expect delays.

Interstate 35

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30
10 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly
Southbound main lanes between Laredo Street and Malone (downtown)
Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the road. This closure includes exit ramps to U.S. Highway 90 and the entrance ramp from U.S. Highway 90. Traffic will use the next available ramp and turnaround. Expect delays.

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
Main lanes, both directions, between FM 3009 and Olympia Parkway (Selma-Shertz)
The left lane will close in each direction while crews remove an overhead sign board. Expect delays.

 

Interstate 37

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30
6 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly
Southbound main lanes between Highway 181 and the Atascosa River (Southeast Bexar County)
Alternating lanes will close while crews repave the roadway. Expect long delays.

Interstate 410

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30
9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
Frontage roads, both directions, between I-10 and I-35 (north San Antonio)
Rolling, alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. Expect delays.

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
Eastbound frontage roads, both directions, between Palo Alto Rd and U.S. Hwy 281 (south San Antonio)
Rolling, alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. Expect delays.

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
Frontage roads, both directions, between Valley Hi and Marbach (west San Antonio)
Rolling, alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. Expect delays.

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30
9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
Frontage roads, both directions, between Military and Evers (northwest San Antonio)
Rolling, alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. Expect delays.

Loop 1604

No closures scheduled.

U.S. Highway 90

No closures scheduled.

U.S. Highway 281

Friday-Monday, August 23-26
9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. continuous
All main lanes at Henderson Pass (north San Antonio)
All main lanes will close while contracted crews remove a beam damaged last week during a traffic incident. Traffic will be diverted onto the frontage roads at Donella Pass in both directions. Expect long delays.

Farm-to-Market roads

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30

8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
FM 3009 at FM 2252 (Garden Ridge)
Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the roadway. Expect delays.

 

 

Monday-Friday, August 25-30

8 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly
FM 2696 (Blanco Road) at Wurzbach Parkway
Alternating lanes will close while crews repave the roadway at the intersection of Wurzbach Parkway.

Sunday-Friday, August 25-30

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly
FM 471 (Culebra Road) between Loop 1604 and FM 1560 (far northwest San Antonio)
Rolling, alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. Expect delays.
 
All planned lane closures are pending weather

I-10 milestone finished early!

Last weekend Webber Construction reopened the Fredericksburg Road overpass bridge. Early.

Not only was the bridge opened nearly a full work-week ahead of schedule, but the weekend closures scheduled were out of the way early. Rather than have the eastbound main lanes of I-10 shut down near Huebner Road for the whole weekend, crews got things opened back up Saturday afternoon.

That's a double-win.

With that major milestone on this 30-month project (which, at the current pace, will finish up somewhere around the end of 2014), the most logical question out there is: what's next?

Well, for now we're working on the storm drain structures on the west end of the project and the turnaround bridge at UTSA Boulevard. We've closed - permanently - the westbound entrance ramp near Huebner Oaks shopping center to allow us to work on the expansion of the frontage road. That work will be away from the business side of the frontage road, meaning we won't be clogging up any driveways.

We'll also be working on the westbound exit ramp to Woodstone, which will be the exit for Woodstone and DeZavala when we're all done. We need to add a lane to that ramp, which is why there's so  much barrier right there. We're just setting up a safe work zone.

Now, for the biggest milestone yet. That's right: we haven't even started work on the biggest milestone of the project. That milestone - or, rather, those milestones (there are two involved) - involves the DeZavala overpass bridge. We need to lift the bridge a bit, and will need to widen and lengthen the bridge in the process. Turnarounds at DeZavala will be closed during this work, and you'll see some overnight closures on DeZavala at I-10 from time to time. The main lanes will be skinnied down to make room for the work (though we're keeping three lanes in each direction).

In short, it's going to be a little rough. And it's going to last for nearly a full year.

But it's unlikely to begin until the end of this year. It's in the best interests of absolutely everybody involved - you, me, the contractor ... everyone - to finish up some other work in the UTSA-DeZavala corridor before starting this milestone. We'll be sure to keep everyone posted on a more specific date when it's available.

For now, let's just revel for a moment in the fact we finished our Fredericksburg Road overpass milestone a bit early.

Hwy 39 Ingram information meeting set

Engineers with the Texas Department of Transportation will provide detailed updates on the Highway 39 expansion project to Ingram city staff and officials with the Ingram Independent School District Wednesday evening in an open forum.

The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at the Ingram City Hall and will be open to the public. After a brief presentation on the project’s project, questions will be answered in an open forum.

The nearly two-year-long project began in January and will expand Hwy 39 to include a dedicated left-turn lane, bike lanes and sidewalks between the intersection of Texas Highway 27 and Ingram Dam. The project cost is estimated at nearly $8.6 million.

Announcing: The brand-new Vance Jackson overpass!

As of late last week, the Vance Jackson bridge over Loop 1604 is officially in service and is ready for use by all those traveling on the city's northwest side.

The $3.35 million bridge connects the commercial center at The Rim with the residential and commercial communities "inside the loop" at UTSA Boulevard, DeZavala Road and Huebner Road. Drivers may now use Vance Jackson continuously from downtown San Antonio to The Rim.

The new bridge features full traffic signals and connects the commercial hub at The Rim to the residential and commercial communities "inside the loop" on the city's northwest side.

Engineering estimates expected some 9,500 vehicles to use the bridge daily within its first year, and as many as 16,000 by the year 2032.

For the first two weeks, the traffic signals at the overpass will feature flashing red lights. This is in accordance to state rules for new signals at intersections. The signals will be configured once the required time spent on flashing red lights has been reached.

Remember - flashing red lights are to be treated as a stop sign.

The bridge was completed on schedule by the Austin Bridge Company.

Lane closures for the week

My apologies this didn't go out Friday. Here's a look at the week ahead in construction-related lane closures:

Interstate 10

Monday-Tuesday, August 19-20

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

East-bound frontage road between Hausman and DeZavala roads (northwest San Antonio)

The right lane will close while crews repair a drain inlet near the Whataburger restaurant. Expect delays.

Monday-Wednesday, August 19-21

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

West-bound main lanes between Wurzbach and DeZavala roads (northwest San Antonio)

The two right lanes will close while crews move and set concrete barrier. This closure includes the exit ramp to Woodstone Drive and the entrance ramp between Wurzbach and Huebner. Traffic will use the next available ramps. Expect delays.

Monday-Wednesday, August 19-21

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

West-bound frontage road between Huebner Road and Woodstone Drive (northwest San Antonio)

The left lane will close while crews move and set concrete barrier. This closure includes the exit ramp to Woodstone Drive. Traffic will use the next available ramp and turnaround. Expect delays.

Tuesday-Friday, August 20-23

9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

East-bound frontage road between Wurzbach and Huebner roads (northwest San Antonio)

The left lane will close while crews pour concrete. Expect delays.

Wednesday-Friday, August 21-23

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

West-bound main lanes between Wurzbach and DeZavala roads (northwest San Antonio)

The two left lanes will close while crews move and set concrete barrier. Expect delays.

Wednesday-Friday, August 21-23

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

East-bound main lanes between UTSA Boulevard and Huebner Road (northwest San Antonio)

The two left lanes will close while crews move and set concrete barrier. Expect delays.

Interstate 35

Sunday-Friday, August 18-23

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Main lanes, both directions, between Olympia Parkway and FM 3009 (Selma-Schertz)

Two left lanes in each direction will close while crews remove overhead highway signs. Expect long delays.

Interstate 37

Sunday-Friday, August 18-30 (Sun-Thurs nights only)

6 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

South-bound main lanes between Highway 181 and the Atascosa River (Southeast Bexar County)

Alternating lanes will close while crews repave the roadway. Expect long delays.

Interstate 410

No closures scheduled

Loop 1604

Tuesday-Wednesday, August 20-21

9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

East-bound frontage road between FM 2252 and Lookout Road (northeast San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the roadway. This closure will include the frontage road exit near Lookout Road. Traffic will use Randolph Brooks Parkway exit. Expect delays.

U.S. Highway 90

No closures scheduled

U.S. Highway 281

Friday-Monday, August 23-26

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. continuous

All main lanes at Henderson Pass (north San Antonio)

All main lanes will close while contracted crews remove a beam damaged last week during a traffic incident. Traffic will be diverted onto the frontage roads. Expect long delays.

Other roads

Sunday-Friday, August 18-23

8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

FM 3009 at intersection of FM 2252 (Garden Ridge)

Alternating lanes will close while crews resurface the roadway. Expect long delays.

Monday-Friday, August 19-30 (M-F only)

8 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

FM 2696 (Blanco Road) at Wurzbach Parkway

Alternating lanes will close while crews repave the roadway at the intersection of Wurzbach Parkway.

All planned lane closures are pending weather.

I-35, I-10 closures - some Q and A

Some semi-major closures are going on with I-35 in the Selma/Garden Ridge area and will be going on with I-10 on the northwest side of San Antonio (those will begin this weekend - more later).

These have created some questions. Though I'm not going to detail each of those questions, I will answer the biggest questions I've been asked.

Pay attention and tell your friends. Please.

First of all, I-35. These closures are on the south-bound side and involve the exit and entrance ramps between FM 1518 and Olympia Parkway.

Here's the deal: we're reversing those ramps. That means the exit ramp will become the entrance ramp, and the entrance ramp will become the exit ramp. In order to do that, these ramps had to be closed - they're being completely torn out this week. These ramps will remain closed for at least two months. Truthfully, I expect these ramps to remain closed until the holiday season.

While the ramps are closed, traffic headed to Olympia Parkway and Forum Parkway (again, that's south-bound traffic) will use the FM 1518 exit. A new entrance ramp south of Olympia Parkway will serve traffic entering the main lanes.

The biggest impact with this closure is for traffic headed to the commercial centers along Forum Parkway and Olympia Parkway. We are understanding of that, and we're committed to getting these ramps reopened as to minimize the impact - especially before the busy season.

Alright ... let's shift gears to the I-10 project. Those who drive the northwest corridor know well of the pinch point on east-bound I-10 before Huebner Road. This has been due to our work to reconstruct the bridge deck of the Fredericksburg Road overpass bridge. The north-bound connector of Fred Road (also called Loop 345) has also been closed. That work began in June.

The good news: We're on schedule to have everything opened back up early. I want you to read that again, so I'll let you go back and check that sentence out one more time....

Did you do it?

Moving on....

The growing pains: In order to reopen everything, we need to shut down all main lanes of I-10 over the weekend. Beginning Friday night at 9 p.m. we'll shut everything down between DeZavala and Huebner roads - traffic will use the Fredericksburg Road exit and follow the frontage road back onto the main lanes prior to reaching Huebner Road.

This is the third time we've used this closure and detour pattern, so if you're a regular you should have a good idea how to navigate this. If it's me, though, I'm avoiding the area at pretty much all cost.

We hope to have the whole thing opened and restriped - you'll have all three main lanes of the highway back! - in time for Monday's morning commute.

The catch: When we have everything reopened, we'll have the west-bound entrance ramp from Huebner Road closed. That's a permanent closure, as the project includes removing that ramp and (eventually) the current DeZavala exit ramp as they are redundant. The entrance ramp I'm talking about is the one right at Huebner Oaks shopping center.

That's it; that's what we've got going on for now. Thanks for checking in - drive safe, everybody!

Construction closures for the week

Interstate 10

Monday-Friday, August 12-16

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

East-bound main lanes between Pine Street and Roland Avenue (east San Antonio)

The left lane will close while crews will repave the shoulder.

 

Interstate 35

Sunday-Friday, August 11-16

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

South-bound main lanes between Evans Road and Loop 1604 (Selma)

The two right lanes will close while crews move barrier and develop a safe work zone. This closure will include the south-bound exit to Loop 1604. Traffic will use Pat Booker Road to reach Loop 1604. Expect long delays.

 

Sunday-Friday, August 11-16

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

South-bound frontage road between Evans Road and Forum Parkway (Selma)

Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road for a work zone. Expect long delays.

 

Sunday, August 11

11 p.m.

South-bound exit ramp to Olympia Parkway, south-bound entrance ramp from FM 1518 and Evans Road (Selma)

The south-bound exit ramp to Olympia Parkway will close long-term while crews reconfigure the entrance and exit ramps between FM 1518 and Olympia Parkway. Traffic will use the FM 1518 exit to reach Olympia Parkway. Traffic from FM 1518 and Evans Road will enter south-bound I-35 after Olympia Parkway. This closure will be in place until late fall or early winter.

 

Interstate 37

Sunday-Friday, August 11-16

6 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

South-bound main lanes between Hwy 181 and the Atascosa River

The left lane will close while crews repave the roadway. Expect delays.

 

Interstate 410

No closures scheduled

 

Loop 1604

No closures scheduled

 

U.S. Highway 90

No closures scheduled

 

U.S. Highway 281

No closures scheduled

 

Other roads

Friday-Sunday, August 9-11

10 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

West-bound side of Bitters Road at U.S. Hwy 281

All lanes will close while crews work on the U.S. Hwy 281 overpass bridge. Traffic will use Winding Way and the Hwy 281 frontage roads to reach their destinations. Expect long delays.

 

All planned lane closures are pending weather.

The latest on the I-10 Huebner project

Last weekend bridge crews poured concrete to form most of the left lanes on the east-bound overpass bridge over Fredericksburg Road, meaning we're quickly approaching the completion of that major milestone.

What does that mean?

First of all, it means we're hoping to be about a week or a week-and-a-half ahead of schedule on getting the main lanes of I-10 freed up again. That will eliminate the pinch point that causes significant morning delays between Huebner and Loop 1604.

Look for these changes before the first week of school - and perhaps even as early as late next week.

So ... that leaves the next question: What's next?

Once our work on the Fredericksburg Road overpass bridge is done, the contractor will begin moving into the area of DeZavala Road. We need to lift those bridge decks, which will mean we have to make the actual bridges longer (it has something to do with the geometry and the math behind structure stability ... the whole conversation made me wish I'd taken more math classes). We'll do one side of the bridge at a time, at six months apiece.

So, here's what it will mean for you who drive this stretch daily:

• The turnarounds at DeZavala will be closed - in both directions - for about a year
• The main lanes will be shifted over and squeezed to a little less than 11 feet wide (normal is 12 or 13 feet)
• Traffic flow will be slow through DeZavala, in both directions, but should free up afterward

Remember we'll still be working on the turnaround bridge at UTSA Boulevard through all this. In fact, we're making some great headway there - we've got most of our retaining wall panels on the east-bound side in place and we're chugging along at the retaining wall on the west-bound side - and we hope to begin building the actual structure of the turnaround at UTSA Boulevard this fall.

When this project started in January 2012, the project schedule was 30 months (two and a half years), meaning the projected completion was mid-2014. However, because of delays with a previous contractor and the financial woes associated with the same, we were looking at being delayed as much as a full 10 months.

I spoke with project managers earlier, wondering what our estimated completion date was. The answer: End of 2014. The delay could be several more months than that, but the contractor is committed to being done as soon as possible, and we're hoping to be out of the way again - and have traffic flowing more freely than ever! - by the end of next year.