First thing's first:
U.S. 281/Wurzbach Parkway
Thank you to everyone who patiently assisted with this weekend's work on U.S. Highway 281 at Wurzbach Parkway. The closure was, no doubt, an inconvenience for many. Traffic volumes through the detour area were much lower than they could have been.
That, we believe, is the direct result of folks spreading the word and planning ahead. To all of you who helped in that, thank you.
A big thanks as well to the folks with Williams Brothers Construction and to our own construction personnel on the project. We'll have more to say after visiting with the contractor tomorrow, but by all accounts the work was done much faster than anticipated. Special recognition to folks like Mike Rogerio, Justin Wiatrek and Lloyd Mair - the TxDOT personnel who oversaw the work this weekend. Theirs is an often thankless job, and they spend several long hours away from their families working to help you get home to yours more quickly and safely.
With everything opened back up on U.S. Highway 281, we've now got some news on Loop 1604 and on a few other projects....
Loop 1604 VSL's
For starters, the variable speed limit signs are now active along west-bound Loop 1604. These speed limits can range from 30 MPH to 70 MPH, and can change in increments of 5 MPH. The idea behind these is to help folks ease into congestion points, making travel overall much safer than normal. Rather than having to suddenly stop as drivers approach congestion at 70 miles per hour - risking potential rear-end collisions - drivers will be eased into such pinch points with speed limits that gradually taper down to the slower speeds.
Remember: these speed limits are enforceable, and representatives of San Antonio Police Department can remind you of the regulatory nature of these signs if you've ignored them.
New projects
Next, with the end of the month comes the award of contracts to contractors. June is an active month in terms of project bidding, and a number of projects were approved by the Texas Transportation Commission.
More will be written later this week on this, but highlighting the list of projects in the San Antonio District are resurfacing projects on I-10 (between downtown and New Braunfels Avenue) and on I-410 (between Medina Base Road and I-35). We've also got a project on I-35 in Comal County on tap; we're adjusting some of the entrance and entrance ramps between FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg Road.
More on that stuff later this week, though.
Independence Day
As we approach the Fourth of July, we have two brief messages:
First, we will not have active work zones near traffic areas through the weekend. We chalk it up to high traffic volumes for the holidays, and we shut most of our projects down. This means no closures during the holiday weekend.
Second, please celebrate responsibly. Drive responsibly, too! Don't tolerate drunk driving, or texting while driving. Figure out where you're going ahead of time, or pull over to send or receive your text messages. Help us make this an enjoyable and fatality free weekend!
That's it for now. More tomorrow!
