The planned closure off U.S. Hwy 281 main lanes originally scheduled to happen tonight, beginning at 9 p.m., has been pushed back until Thursday night. The primary factor for this is weather - large rain storms are moving into the area overnight.
The closure is a total closure of the main lanes in both directions, with alternating closures of the northbound frontage road as well. These closures will allow bridge crews with Williams Brothers Construction to pour concrete, forming the bridge deck of the Wurzbach Parkway overpass bridge.
With the main lanes closed, northbound traffic will exit Nakoma Drive and re-enter after passing through Bitters Road. With closures on the frontage road, traffic may need to use Nakoma Drive, Jones-Maltsberger and Bitters Road to detour around the closure. Again, this is only overnight for a single night, and should not impact regular business operations along the corridor. Traffic flow will be controlled by off-duty police officers.
Southbound traffic will exit Bitters Road and follow the frontage road through Nakoma Drive, then re-enter the main lanes of U.S. 281. Again, police officers will control traffic at the intersections of Bitters Road and Nakoma Drive.
This closure should nearly complete a streak of overnight main lanes closures along this corridor that's continued over the last several weeks. Bridge crews will still need to construct the barriers along the edge of the overpass, but most of the major work on the bridge will be complete with this closure.
The bridge itself will not be opened for use until work on the approaches on either side, as well as the roadway on either side, is complete. That work is scheduled to finish up mid-2015.
Other closures planned for this week include Bowens Crossing at Loop 1604 and Fredericksburg Road at Medical Drive. Those closures are still moving forward as scheduled.