This is the same achievement they reached on the eastbound side last year. All told, they finished a full year's worth of work in a little more than 8 months. Whatever the struggles of the I-10 Huebner project have been over the last three years, this is a huge win for those driving through the area.
As of Monday morning Webber had the UTSA Blvd exit opened westbound lanes over DeZavala in close to their final configuration. There will be some smaller adjustments in the future, but for the most part the westbound side of I-10 is what it's going to look like long-term.
The eastbound lanes still have work remaining, and most of that will take place in the upcoming weeks. This includes a new entrance ramp from UTSA Blvd (traffic is using a temporary ramp today) and a finished concrete median barrier. That work has the main lanes restricted to just three lanes. Those driving through might take some comfort in knowing we are not quite finished, but we should be by mid-March. That will mean one more weekend set of closures, but we anticipate the next set to be much less invasive than this passed weekend.
On that note, let's address what occurred over the weekend to make things as rough as it was. To be sure, traffic through I-10 at DeZavala was at its worst in this project's three-year history. Scheduling gaffes on part of a contractor and an oversight in traffic control along the frontage roads have been identified as contributory to the gridlock that occurred. These issues have been addressed at length with project personnel at all management levels.
Coming up on the eastbound side Webber will close the UTSA Blvd exit ramp and the right lane of the frontage road approaching UTSA Blvd. This will keep the driveways off the frontage road to Costco locked for at least a week, beginning this weekend. Those headed to buy in bulk may reach Costco from UTSA Blvd. When the work is done, the new east-to-west turnaround will be opened and the roadwork will be done except for its final asphalt surface.
As for those turnarounds....
We have some asphalt left to lay down, along with a few other items to wrap up before having those opened. We wanted to have them open along with last weekend's work, but that clearly I didn't happen.
We are told by Webber that, pending weather, we can have the turnarounds in play by the end of the month.