Wurzbach Parkway progress

West to Jones-Maltsberger

Crews will close Jones-Maltsberger between Arion Parkway and Old Bitters Road Thursday and Friday nights to build the overpass over Jones-Maltsberger.

The closure will be complete, pushing traffic onto the U.S. 281 frontage roads by way of Bitters Road or Arion Parkway. Crews will begin work around 10 p.m. each night and have the road reopened by 5:30 each morning. Project planners have worked the schedule around high school baseball playoff games at blossom Athletic Center both nights.

Crews will be setting bridge deck panels, which serve to shape the bridge deck. With the panels in place, crews will be able to pour concrete to fill out the deck. That concrete will be scheduled once the panels are all set in place and the reinforcement steel is in place.

Other crews are working to finish the hike and bike trail running under U.S. 281, which will extend the Salado Creek Greenway to West Avenue. Work continues west of U.S. 281, including structures to support what will be the eastbound frontage road intersection with the Hwy 281 southbound frontage road and the embankments approaching the U.S. 281 overpass.

Jones-Maltsberger to Wetmore

Nearly all the active work on the eastern segment of the parkway is bridge work. This includes bridges at Mud Creek and Salado Creek, as well as construction of the road cutting through Old Bitters Rd near the city's brush dump site.

Crews are also staying busy on Jones-Maltsberger, building the center median islands. This work indicates we are getting closer to. Opening up Jones-Maltsberger to full capacity could happen as early as the end if May. Work will continue at the intersection through the end of the center-section project, which is on schedule for mid-2015. 

Next week's construction-related closures

Interstate 10

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews lay pipe and move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the Woodstone Drive exit ramp. Traffic will use the next available ramp. This closure includes the occasional closure of the east-to-west turnaround at Huebner Road. Traffic will use the signaled intersection. Expect delays.

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Eastbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move and set barrier, lay pipe and place asphalt. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit and entrance ramps associated with DeZavala Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp.

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move and set barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of exit ramps to Woodstone Drive and DeZavala Road. This closure includes the occasional closure of the entrance ramp from UTSA Boulevard. Traffic will take the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move and set barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of exit ramps to Woodstone Drive and DeZavala Road. This closure includes the occasional closure of the entrance ramp from UTSA Boulevard. Traffic will take the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Main lanes, both directions, between Huebner Road and UTSA Boulevard (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews demolish the concrete median barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the UTSA Boulevard exit and entrance as well as the De Zavala Road exit ramp(westbound) and the Fredericksburg Road exit (eastbound). Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Thursday-Friday, May 1-2

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

Westbound main lanes between New Braunfels Avenue and Walters Street (east San Antonio)

The right lane will close while crews move and reset barrier. Expect minor delays.

Interstate 35

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. continuous

Northbound exit to FM 3009 (Schertz)

One lane will close while crews build sidewalks and curb on the frontage road. Exiting traffic will still have a lane to use. Expect minor delays.

Monday-Friday, April 28-May 2

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Olympia Parkway overpass at I-35 (Selma)

The overpass will be completely closed while crews repave the bridge deck surface and approaches. Northbound traffic will use Evans Road to reach its destination. Southbound traffic will use Forum Parkway to reach its destination. Expect delays.

Friday-Saturday, April 25-May 31

8 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

Turnaround on the south side of the Medina River  (Von Ormy)

All lanes of the turnaround will close while crews pave the road surface. This closure includes the northbound entrance ramps. Traffic will use next available ramps. Expect delays.

Friday-Saturday, April 25-May 31

8 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

Northbound main lanes between Loop 1604 and Fisher Road (Von Ormy)

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

Interstate 37

No closures scheduled.

Interstate 410

No closures scheduled.

Loop 1604

Monday-Thursday, April 28-May 1

9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily

Main lanes, both lanes, between Emory Peak and Spurs Ranch (far west Bexar County)

The left lane will close while crews work on curbs and sidewalks.

U.S. Highway 90

No closures scheduled.

U.S. Highway 281

No closures scheduled.

Other roads

Sunday-Saturday, April 27-May 3

8 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 build the bridge support structures under Fredericksburg Road. Expect delays.

Sunday-Monday, April 27-28

9 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Loop 337 (Rueckle Road) between Altgelt Road and I-35 (New Braunfels)

Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the pavement to set up a work zone. Expect minor delays.

All planned lane closures are pending weather.

Sidewalks on deck for I-35 Selma job

Next week crews will close one of the two northbound exit lanes to FM 3009 to build the curbs and sidewalks along the northbound frontage road between Schertz Parkway and FM 3009. This work, and it's associated closure, will last about a week.

The final asphalt surface has been placed along the northbound lanes here, approaching Schertz Parkway, but final pavement markings are yet to come. That will likely be the very last thing to finish on the project. 

Project supervisors are waiting in a redesign for small segments of the center median barrier where new overhead highway sign bridges are to be mounted. Once the redesign is in place we'll see overnight closures flare up en masse again while crews build the walls and sign support structures. That work is planned to be done overnight and supervisors expect to begin work on that task the first part of May.

This section of the main lanes, between Cibolo Creek and Loop 1604, has yet to be repaved. That will happen after the center median barrier is completed.

Beyond that, paving work is the most visible remaining work on the project. The FM 3009 overpass, the FM 3009 south-to-north turnaround, the main lanes (north and south) between Cibolo Creek bridge to Judson Road, the Olympia Parkway overpass and approaches and the  turnaround at FM 1518. Most - almost all of it, really - will be done during nighttime hours to avoid more significant impacts to traffic. However, with temperatures struggling to stay above 60 degrees overnight, supervisors are looking for out-of-the box ways to progress work.

Work on the south-to-north turnaround at FM 3009 continues; Dan Williams Company expects to have this turnaround opened by the start of June.

With the work remaining on the south-to-north turnaround at FM 3009, current projections have the turnaround opening the first part of June. Overall project completion is still on target for the start of July - in time for the heavy summer traffic.

Tomorrow's major traffic switch on I-10

You may well be aware by now of our intention to switch the frontage roads along I-10 between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road to one-way tomorrow. These changes are permanent (sort of). Allow me to explain….

 

When we switch these frontage roads to one-way, we’ll also be squeezing traffic down to a single lane at the intersections while we construct the support structures for the expanded bridge. That is, the westbound frontage road will be a single lane (the right lane) from about where the entrance to the La Quinta Inn is at on to the intersection. On the eastbound side, we’ll only have one lane headed east from Ralph Fair Road to a point a little beyond the Taco Cabana. Traffic alignments west of Ralph Fair Road will be pretty much unchanged; they will still be two-way, and we don’t anticipate any major closures impacting traffic in that area.

 

We’ve already coordinated with our traffic operations folks to look at adjusting the timing of the traffic signals at this intersection. We will continue to keep an eye on things here and make other adjustments as needed.

 

An item worth mentioning here: The eastbound frontage road will remain two-way between Autumn Stage Road and Boerne Stage Road to accommodate Bexar County's ongoing work on Boerne Stage Road and all applicable detours. On the westbound side, the one-way frontage road will only extend from the westbound I-10 exit ramp to Ralph Fair Road. For now….

 

Longer answer: For this phase, we’re leaving the west-to-east hook on the westbound exit ramp in play. This means, for now, the frontage road between the exit ramp and Aue Road will remain two-way. When we reach the next phase (sometime this summer), that little stretch will become a one-way road and traffic to Aue Road will have to come through Boerne Stage. Ultimately, this project is only aiming to convert the westbound frontage road between Aue Road and Ralph Fair Road.

The last few hundred feet of frontage road on the eastbound side will be converted late fall 2014.

 

Please note the traffic lanes along Ralph Fair Road will be significantly squeezed, with an active work zone along the northbound side of the road. We’re planning to maintain the two-way traffic pattern here.

 

During this phase of work, most of the structures going up will be to support the future west-to-east turnarounds being built at this intersection.

I-10 Huebner update

"The workforce is going up greatly."

This report by Webber's superintendent indicated the addition of an extra dirt crew, an extra bridge crew and additional workers from across the state to be added to all crews. The adage, "many hands makes light work" applies here; the added crews will most certainly mean another boost in production rates. Including subcontractors on the project, this is the third increase in manpower the project has seen in the last six months.

With the added force, Webber will continue pushing forward on a list of retaining wall work from one end of the project to the other. The use of these walls is becoming increasingly evident as dirt-moving crews shift over to widening work. One of the more visible of these areas being widened is the westbound exit ramp to Woodstone, which will be a two-lane exit ramp when we're finished and will hold traffic headed to DeZavala Road as well as to Woodstone.

Overnight closures to demo the center median barrier is ongoing, and Webber still anticipates shifting traffic for work on the DeZavala Road overpass. That work, which will carry two incentives-laden milestones, will last about a year.

This week's construction-related closures

Apologies for the delayed post ... consequences of a long weekend....

Interstate 10

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 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 move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit ramps to Fredericksburg Road, Woodstone Drive and DeZavala Road, as well as the entrance ramps from DeZavala Road and UTSA Boulevard. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Eastbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the entrance ramp from and the exit ramp to DeZavala Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit ramp to Woodstone Drive Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Eastbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the entrance ramp from and the exit ramp to DeZavala Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit ramp to Woodstone Drive Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Interstate 35

Monday-Wednesday, April 21-23

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Olympia Parkway and Loop 1604 (Selma)

Alternating lanes will close while crews stripe the roadway. This closure includes the closure of the southbound exit to Loop 1604. Traffic will exit Olympia Parkway. Expect delays.

Monday-Friday, April 21-25

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Solms Road and FM 3009 (Schertz)

Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the pavement base and resurface the road. Some ramps may close for this work. Traffic will use next available ramp and turn around to reach its destination. Expect delays.

Monday-Wednesday, April 21-30

8 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

Turnaround on the south side of the Medina River  (Von Ormy)

All lanes of the turnaround will close while crews pave the road surface. This closure includes the northbound entrance ramps. Traffic will use next available ramps. Expect delays.

Monday-Wednesday, April 21-30

8 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

Northbound main lanes between Loop 1604 and Fisher Road (Von Ormy)

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

Interstate 37

No closures scheduled.

Interstate 410

No closures scheduled.

Loop 1604

Monday-Wednesday, April 21-23

10 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes between Culebra Road and Shaenfield Road (northwest San Antonio)

The right lane and shoulder will close while close while crews set traffic barrier. Expect delays.

U.S. Highway 90

No closures scheduled.

U.S. Highway 281

No closures scheduled.

Other roads

Monday-Friday, April 21-25

8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. daily

Highway 123 between Seguin and the Wilson-Karnes county line (Guadalupe, Wilson counties)

Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the pavement base. One-way traffic control will be used through these closures. Expect delays.

Monday-Saturday, April 21-26

8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Fredericksburg Road between Louis Pasteur and Data Point (medical center)

Alternating lanes will close while crews build an underground bridge structure. Expect delays.

All planned lane closures are pending weather.

Frontage road, ramp closures on I-35 through Natalia set

In order to speed up a project on the exit ramps and frontage roads of I-35 through Natalia that began last month, the Texas Department of Transportation has approved a major proposed amendment to the traffic control plan that will close the northbound exit ramp to Farm to Market 471 for about three weeks beginning Wednesday, April 23.

Northbound traffic exiting FM 471 will use the exit for County Road 770. Perhaps the more major change is the temporary conversion of the access road along the northbound frontage road to one-way between CR 770 and FM 471. Traffic from FM 471 will need to take southbound I-35 to the Bigfoot exit (exit 124) and cross over the highway, then head north to CR 770 to reach destinations on the northbound side of the highway between the two roads.

In later phases of work this temporary conversion to one-way frontage roads will impact other segments or road, including segments north of FM 471.

TxDOT officials reviewed the plan with representatives of the city of Natalia before giving the go-ahead, ensuring the closure doesn’t interfere with the city’s growing economic hub. CRG, the contractor for the project, brought the revision to TxDOT after struggling to progress work while battling daily traffic.

The revised plan will allow crews to more rapidly reconstruct the base and surface layers of the frontage road as planned. Traffic should return to its typical configuration in mid-May. That target could be impacted by weather, by equipment performance or by materials availability.

Overall completion of the $1.7 million project is expected before the 2014-2015 school year begins.

New Project: Loop 337 at I-35

A new project is set to start in New Braunfels Monday, making the intersection of I-35 and Rueckle Road (Loop 337) an active construction zone through the end of the year.

The goal of the $3.2 millionroject is to open up the Rueckle Road bridge over I-35 to have multiple lanes in each direction, which will be done by eliminating the south-to-north turnaround and the raised median barriers. The intersection has an abnormally high volume of large truck traffic due to a nearby truck stop.

Most of the work - particularly the road work on Rueckle Road between I-35 and Altgelt, where we'll be expanding the road to match the expanded bridge - will be done at night to avoid heavier traffic volumes. No new bridge structure will be built. Some work will be done during the day where possible, and drivers should be aware of the constant change associated with active work zones.

Daily drivers should be aware of the early elimination of the turnaround. This will happen by the end of April, and is a permanent change. The structure used as the turnaround will be converted for use as the expanded overpass.

The contractor doing the work is Hunter Industries, the same company currently building the FM 306 job on the north side of New Braunfels and the US 281 expansion through Spring Branch. Both of those jobs are running well ahead of schedule.

The steel plates at Fred-Med

They're loud and clunky. Cars bump over them, and they flex just a bit under the weight of really large trucks. They span the width of Fredericksburg Road and, in one spot, run down the middle of Medical Drive.

These large steel plates have been glaringly present for weeks now. What isn't as obvious is the constant work happening underneath those plates.

The plates cover a trench in which a number of workers are building support structures for the bridge that will hold up Fredericksburg Road when Medical Drive runs underneath. Though work during the daytime hours isn't typical - the mass of traffic poses too great a risk - during nighttime hours those trenches are buzzing with activity.

More trenches will come, too. The trenches in place today basically only address needs for the north side of the intersection, or over the future westbound lanes of Medical Drive. Trenches for the eastbound side will be built with the next phase of work, when work on other areas of the future westbound lanes wraps up.

That work, of course, continues in earnest. On the downhill side of the intersection, heavy excavation is nearing completion. Retaining walls are (mostly) built and road-builders are getting ready to address driveways along the road.

This includes the driveway to the Bluff Creek Tower, which will close this week while crews rebuild the driveway. Folks needing to reach Bluff Creek will do so from Fredericksburg Road and use the parking lot of the little strip mall. A temporary driveway easement allows traffic two weeks' access to allow workers to do what they do. When the work on the upper portion of the driveway is finished, traffic will move Mack to the driveway and follow the work zone down the hill before letting out onto Medical Drive.

FM 306 - bypassing UPRR by Memorial Day

Perhaps the most important thing to be said of the FM 306 job in the Gruene-New Branfels area is that we're on pace to have both UPRR overpasses - one near Hunter Road and one near Goodwin Lane -  ready for us and open in time for Memorial Day. 

The Goodwin Lane overpass is nearly complete, with "rod busters" building steel cages for the side rails. Temporary barriers are being set on the south side if the bridge; permanent barriers will be built when the eastbound side is built. The final layer of asphalt needs to be laid before traffic is able to use the bridge; that will happen closer to Memorial Day.

The Hunter Road bridge is progressing quickly, with bridge crews busy setting deck panels for the next couple of weeks. Hunter Industries plans to pour the concrete making the bridge deck late April, allowing just enough time to have the bridge finished for Memorial Day. The head of the bridge crews says they should be able to position cranes away from the active traffic lanes for that pour, meaning any further closures of FM 306 at this location are unlikely.

The other major upcoming development is a traffic switch between Goodwin Lane and I-35. Hunter is planning to split traffic, using newly built road surface on the shoulder areas, April 18. When the switch happens, traffic patterns on the eastern portion of the project will match the layout between Common Street and Hunter Road.

On another note, we've gotten some calls and emails expressing some frustrations about the timing of traffic signals in the area. The electricians on the job, Levy Construction, this week cleaned the sensor lenses on signals for better detection in hopes that helps issues. The city of New Braunfels maintains timing and is monitoring these intersections pretty well.

Wurzbach Parkway Progress

There's not a whole lot to say this week, beyond mentioning work is continuing in areas that have seen an influx of work over recent weeks. However, a question has arisen about a feature on the westbound lanes of Wurzbach Parkway between West Avenue and Vista Del Norte.

That feature is a small access port near the San Antonio River Authority bridge, intended to allow maintenance crews access to the SARA spillway in the area.

This is not a public access point, though many folks may wish or think it is. The cars parked in the area to date have belonged to workers with TxDOT’s construction partners. Those who might use the port can actually be prosecuted for trespassing, at the discretion of SARA.

Again ... it's not a public access point.

However, a connector for the Salado Creek Greenway is being built through the area, connecting Hardberger Park to the McAllister Park going through Walker Ranch Heritage Park. Once that connection is complete, public access is allowed and encouraged.

Frontage roads to be converted near Ralph Fair Road

Beginning April 25 the frontage roads along I-10 between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road will be converted to one-way only. This change is permanent, effectively reaching one of the overarching safety goals of a $7.6 million project that will also replace the overpass bridge and add a west-to-east turnaround.

When the switch is made, only a single lane will be open in each direction near the intersection with Ralph Fair Road. Work on the new west-to-east turnaround will be picking up, making the area between the frontage roads and the main lanes an active construction zone.

One overarching goal of this project, coupled with an upcoming project between Dominion Drive and Boerne Stage Road, is to eliminate two-way frontage roads in an area where the population continues to boom. This effort will help reduce wrong-way driving incidents on the main lanes of I-10 on the northwest of San Antonio, improving the safety of the corridor.

Along with the conversion to one-way frontage roads between Boerne Stage and Ralph Fair Road, crews will constrict the lanes on Ralph Fair Road itself; lane widths will be reduced to a little less than 11 feet with the east side of the road becoming the target for the next phase of work.

The road that serves as a frontage road between Aue and Boerne Stage roads will remain unchanged.

Projects awarded in March

In an ongoing effort to improve safety and address congestion, the Texas Transportation Commission last month awarded $3.4 million in contracts, split among four projects, including the repair of park roads at Garner State Park and upgrades to signals in San Antonio and Atascosa counties.

Salinas Construction, of New Braunfels, will repair and resurface the roads and parking lots at the park. All this work will be done on areas that are already paved; no new pavement is being placed at the park. The total project cost is $1.1 million, with $891,000 in construction costs.

“Our state’s natural beauty has long been a point of pride, so it is imperative that we keep state park roadways safe for Texans and out-of-state visitors,” said Commissioner Fred Underwood, of the Texas Transportation Commission. “The benefits offered by our state parks will continue to be enjoyed by all with the approval of this project.”

Other projects awarded to contractors include an upgrade of traffic signals at five intersections along North Bryan Street near Pleasanton High School. Signals at Highway 97, Adams Street, Stadium Drive, Goodwin Street and Bensdale Road will be upgraded, and the intersection of Wilshire Road will get a new set of signals. These signals will include smart technology, allowing the signals to communicate with one another to optimize traffic flow.

Levy Construction will perform this signal work, winning the job with a bid of $740,000. The overall project cost is estimated at $1 million.

Levy will also perform work to upgrade various traffic signals across Bexar County as part of a district-wide initiative, directed by the district traffic engineer. The contract for this work is worth $1.3 million, with a total project cost of $1.6 million.

Rounding the list of projects approved by the commission last month is the repair of the Leon Creek bridge on Somerset Road in Bexar County. K-Bar Services, of Pleasanton, will rehabilitate the surface of the bridge deck. Their awarded contract is worth $425,300; the total project cost is $462,000.

These projects will begin this summer. None of them will take more than a few months to complete.