Why so many dang retaining walls?
This project is adding lanes - one lane each way - to the main lanes of traffic. The main lanes are elevated in most locations, and are against hillsides in others. Plainly put, just about every linear foot of roadway we're working on needs a retaining wall to prevent deterioration of a hillside. At UTSA Blvd, for instance, the retaining wall is keeping the slope of the hill supporting the UTSA Blvd bridge from eroding away. The westbound side near the Huebner Oaks Shopping Center is getting a retaining wall in order to keep the right main lane from sliding into the frontage road.
The bottom line: retaining walls are a very important part of this project. In fact, we have 16 planned walls on this project. Once those walls are built, work on the actual road structures in those areas will start.
The biggest exception - and even this requires a lot of retaining wall work - is the reconstruction of the DeZavala Rd overpass. That year-long task is targeted to begin in March with the demolition of center median barrier to build temporary lanes. Traffic will switch in April, if all goes well.