This week's construction-related closures

Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we stayed pretty well out of the way last week. Between now and December 15, expect to see all of our projects accelerate. We have a district-wide policy against major closures December 15 through January 2. Because of that, most of our contractors push to get their major immediately pressing work items done as soon as possible. This week will be a major closure on I-10 between Foster Road and FM 1516. Other major closures will be announced as appropriate.

I-10 – Seguin

• Tuesday, November 29. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Westbound main lanes at Hwy 46 (exit 607). The deceleration lane and exit ramp will close while crews install pavement markings. Traffic will follow the posted detour. 
• Wednesday, November 30. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Westbound main lanes between Business 123 and Hwy 46. The right lane will close while crews build guardrail. 

I-10 – Boerne

• Sunday, November 27-Friday, December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes at Scenic Loop Road. The left lane will close while crews repair the retaining wall. 

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Friday, December 2-Monday, December 5. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. continuous. Eastbound main lanes between Foster Road and FM 1516. All lanes will close while crews install drain structures. Traffic will exit Foster Road and re-enter at the next available ramp. Officers will control traffic at the Foster Road and FM 1516 intersections. 

I-35 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 27-December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound exit to westbound I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will exit Walzem and continue along the frontage road to reach I-410. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 27-December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 27-December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Frontage roads, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 
• Monday-Friday, November 28-December 2. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Frontage roads, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, November 28-December 2. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road between Binz-Engleman and Salado Creek. The right lane will close while crews work on curb and sidewalk. 

I-410 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 27-December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound exit ramp to Randolph Boulevard and the city of Windcrest. The ramp will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will exit Thousand Oaks, turn around and return to Randolph Boulevard to reach its destination. 

I-410 – East San Antonio

• Current through Friday, December 2. Southbound main lanes over North WW White. The right lane will close while crews repair damaged bridge rail. 

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Thursday, November 28-December 1. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes between Ingram and Culebra roads. The right two lanes will close while crews install barrier and do concrete work. 
• Thursday-Friday, December 1-2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Ingram and Culebra roads. All lanes will close while crews do overhead sign work. Traffic will exit Culebra Road, travel through the intersection and re-enter at the next available ramp. 

US Hwy 281 – Central San Antonio

• Current through Friday, December 2. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Loop 1604 and Brook Hollow Road. The left lane will close while crews trim trees. 

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current through Friday, December 16. Westbound exit ramp to Ingram and Potranco roads. The ramp will remain closed while crews install bridge support structures for the direct connector ramps being constructed. 
• Tuesday-Saturday, November 29-December 3. 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. daily. Westbound frontage road between Wiseman Boulevard and Loop 1604. The right lane will close while crews build a sound wall. 

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Tuesday-Saturday, November 29-December 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, at Potranco Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier. 
• Tuesday-Saturday, November 29-December 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes between Potranco and Military. The right lane will close while crews set barrier. 
• Tuesday-Saturday, November 29-December 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Wiseman Boulevard. The right lane will close while crews set barrier. 

Other roads – Seguin

• Current until Saturday, December 31. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. King Street, both directions, between Cedar Street and US 90. All lanes will close while crews install storm drains and rebuild the road. Traffic will use Hwy 123 as a detour. 

Other roads – Boerne

• Monday-Thursday, November 28-December 1. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Hwy 46, both directions, at Thunder Valley Road. Traffic will be limited to one-way traffic controlled by a flagger while crews build a center left turn lane. 
• Monday-Friday, November 28-December 2. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Hwy 46, both directions, between Amman Road and Cinco Lane. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier. 

Other roads – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 27-December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Randolph Boulevard, both directions, at I-35. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road and turn around at the next available intersection to reach its destination. 
• Tuesday-Thursday, November 29-December 1. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Eastbound FM 78 between I-410 and Interstate Drive. The right lane will close while crews build sidewalk. 
• Wednesday-Friday, November 30-December 2. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Eastbound FM 78 between Braden Gate and Lakeview Drive. The right lane will close while crews build sidewalk. 

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Monday, December 5. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Military Drive, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage roads and turn around at the next intersection to reach its destination. 

All closures are pending weather.

THIS week's construction-related closures

Sorry this is late to post! We missed getting some closures posted that occurred this weekend, and we sincerely apologize. If you got caught in traffic at the I-410-Hwy 151 interchange yesterday, or on US 90 on the west side of town, we're sorry.

Our crews and contractors are working hard to get as much work as they can finished before December 15; we don't allow them any major closures between December 15 and January 2. We'll also keep off the road next week during Thanksgiving (Thursday-Sunday) to make sure everyone can get to their destinations relatively easily.

At any rate, here's a look at what we've got:

I-10 – Boerne

• Monday-Friday, November 14-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes at Scenic Loop Road. The left lane will close while crews repair the retaining wall. 
• Sunday-Wednesday, November 20-23. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes at Scenic Loop Road. The left lane will close while crews repair the retaining wall. 
• Sunday, November 27-Friday, December 2. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes at Scenic Loop Road. The left lane will close while crews repair the retaining wall. 

I-10 – Leon Springs

• Tuesday-Wednesday, November 15-16. 7:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. Eastbound frontage road between Ralph Fair Road and Boerne Stage Road. The right lane will close while crews move barrier. 

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Monday-Wednesday, November 14-16. 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound frontage roads at Foster Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews install concrete barrier. 

I-35 – New Braunfels

• Tuesday-Friday, November 15-18. 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road between the Hays County line and FM 306. The right lane will close while crews repair asphalt. 
• Thursday-Monday, November 17-21. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Northbound main lanes at Alligator Creek. The right shoulder will close while crews work on guardrail. 

I-35 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound exit to westbound I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will exit Walzem and continue along the frontage road to reach I-410. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Frontage roads, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 
• Monday-Friday, November 14-18. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Frontage roads, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between AT&T Center Parkway and Binz-Engleman. Alternating lanes will close while crews do finish work. 
• Monday-Friday, November 14-18. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Northbound frontage road between AT&T Center Parkway and Binz-Engleman. The left lane will close while crews do finish work. 

I-410 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound exit ramp to Randolph Boulevard and the city of Windcrest. The ramp will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will exit Thousand Oaks, turn around and return to Randolph Boulevard to reach its destination. 

I-410 – East San Antonio

• Current through Friday, December 2. Southbound main lanes over North WW White. The right lane will close while crews repair damaged bridge rail. 

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until May 2017. Northbound exit ramp to Culebra Road. The ramp will remain closed while crews reconstruct the main lanes and frontage road and construct a new ramp. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and return to Culebra to reach its destination.
• Tuesday-Friday, November 15-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road at Hwy 151. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will head west on Hwy 151, turn around at Ingram Road and return to I-410 to reach its destination. 

US Hwy 281 – Central San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Airport and Josephine. Alternating lanes will close while crews do bridge work. This closure includes ramps as needed. Traffic will follow the posted detour route. 
• Monday-Friday, November 14-18. 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between I-35 and I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews work on guardrail. This closure includes ramps as needed. Traffic will follow the posted detour route. 

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until December 2016. Westbound exit ramp to Ingram and Potranco roads. The ramp will remain closed while crews install bridge support structures for the direct connector ramps being constructed. 
• Tuesday-Friday, November 15-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes at I-410. All lanes will close while crews set overhead bridge support beams. Traffic will exit I-410, follow the frontage road and use the next available ramp. 

Other roads – Seguin

• Current until Saturday, December 31. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. King Street, both directions, between Cedar Street and US 90. All lanes will close while crews install storm drains and rebuild the road. Traffic will use Hwy 123 as a detour. 

Other roads – Boerne

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Scenic Loop Road, both directions, at I-10. Traffic will be reduced to one-way, controlled by off-duty officers while crews do roadwork. 
• Thursday-Friday, November 17-18. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Hwy 46, both directions, between Amman Road and Cinco Lane. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt. 
• Sunday-Wednesday, November 20-23. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Hwy 46, both directions, between Amman Road and Cinco Lane. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt. 

Other roads – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Randolph Boulevard, both directions, at I-35. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road and turn around at the next available intersection to reach its destination. 

Other roads – East Bexar County

• Sunday-Friday, November 13-18. 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Westbound WW White between East Houston Street and Fairlawn Ave. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road. 

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Wednesday, November 30. 8:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound Bandera Road between Grissom and Tezel roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the road. 
• Current until Monday, December 5. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Military Drive, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage roads and turn around at the next intersection to reach its destination. 

All closures are pending weather.

Loop 1604 NW: Past, present and future

Several weeks ago we got a very long, very carefully thought-out message from an individual who uses Loop 1604 between Culebra Road and I-10 on a regular basis. Well, for whatever reason that note had been pushed back quite a bit and deserves some real discussion - particularly since others have asked a lot of similar questions.

Hi, with the work done on the new 1604 modifications from Bandera down to Culebra, traffic has improved greatly going down toward Hwy 151. No more morning backups. Sadly, the traffic going towards UTSA on Loop 1604 appears to have become worse. The highway will back up clear back past the Braun exit each morning, then trickles down to the service road which was been ugly from Bandera on for a long time. Now the service road is backing up between Braun and Bandera now while the highway is gridlocked.

People are now getting desperate and cutting through the shopping centers and taking any path they can to avoid the backups or to cut down the line where possible. In the evening you can see gridlock situations going from Babcock down to Bandera. It seems like the growth has out lived the design of the Loop 1604 configuration in place today.

Is there a plan in the works to address this?
I also wanted to thank the team for the great work done to get the overpasses and service roads completed between Bandera and Culebra. Sadly, people are blowing down these roadways at far more than the speed limits. We get passed every day by 98% of the vehicles driving on the service roads and the highway too like we're standing still. I know the lower speeds were put into place for safety due to upcoming work and growth in this area, but it creates a dangerous condition for those that are observing the speed limits in place. I've seen a few police in the area, but it isn't enough to deter these folks that want to fly through here like they are in the Indy 500. My family and I were almost taken out by a rock hauler blowing down the service road. It is pretty dangerous as it stands right now. I don't want a ticket for speeding nor do I want my family and I to be killed by these people far faster than the 40/60 setup today.
- Rick

Rick, we feel you. You've got a few major issues to address here. We're gonna do our best to give the best answers we've got.

Speed limits

The current speed limits reflect a couple of things. The first is the old speed limit on the road, way back when this stretch of Loop 1604 (Bandera to Culebra) was a superstreet. It also matches the initial design speed - the speed that matches what our design manuals say we need to set a roadway at when it's built.
(Note: "Design Speed" is a misleading label; while it's the speed the road was "designed for", most of our roads remain safe at speeds a bit higher than the listed design speed.)
We've already looked at this stretch and are in the process of updating the speed limits - a process that requires some time and some action from the Texas Transportation Commission. If you're among the super-curious, here's a great resource on how we determine the posted speed limits.
The bottom line: we're working on it. We don't have a firm timeline on when we could have these speed limits updated, but it should be right about the turn of the new year.

New congestion issues
Interestingly, the congestion on Lp 1604 isn't actually adding more time to commutes than what was taken before. The time spent backed up at New Guilbeau and Braun roads is now spent on the main lanes, providing a bit of an illusion that it's a longer commute. In the past, those signals at New Guilbeau and Braun metered traffic to the main lanes a bit.
However, we are seeing some small upticks in traffic volume during peak hours. What's happening is folks that were on FM 1560 are now on Loop 1604. Why? Well, with the main lanes of Lp 1604 opened up, it's now a little faster to scoot from the area of Culebra to Bandera along those main lanes than it would be to use FM 1560.
For now, at least.

Future development
The short answer here is we don't have anything in the immediate future that will address these issues. What really needs to happen is an upgrade to the interchange at I-10 and Lp 1604, where the bulk of the morning backup is coming from. Well, that's something we're working with the MPO to find a good plan for; the most recent plans for an upgrade of the interchange (they come with a price tag of about half a billion dollars for a full interchange) would involve managed lanes.
We're still working on a plan, though.
We are also aware of the need for added capacity to Loop 1604 between Bandera Road and ... well, I-35, really. That's a whole other ball of wax, but we're working on it.
Both of these issues are considered in the MPO's Transportation Improvement Program. If you look at the spreadsheet, you'll note we have one portion of the connectors planned for fiscal year 2017 and an expansion of Lp 1604 planned for fiscal year 2020. Those funds haven't been identified nor secured, though, so at this point these are placeholders.
One idea we're trying to find some traction for in the interim is what engineers call "operational improvements". That is, we can move some of the exit and entrance ramps along Loop 1604 to promote a better flow of traffic. Yes, this means we'd see folks exiting onto frontage roads, re-entering, then exiting again. That's called queue hopping. The practice may aggravate some, but it's actually helpful to the system.
It would also help for traffic going westbound at night - that's the traffic backing up as it heads to Bandera Road. If that exit and the on-ramp from Hausman were swapped, we might see some huge improvements to traffic flow at night. The challenge would be designing it appropriately and within financial constraints - determining whether we need to add an auxiliary lane to the overpasses or not, that kind of thing - before really getting to sink our teeth into it.
For now, nothing is funded and we've not been given this as a priority from the MPO, so we've not got a plan to present. Just a lot of ideas we're fleshing through. 

#EndTheStreakTX

November 7, 2000 - it's an important date in Texas history.

No one person did anything fantastic, per se. In fact, it may be the only date we mark by something not happening.

It is the last day we've not seen, as a state, a fatality on Texas roads.

Every single day since, at least one Texas motorist has lost their life. Every day, millions of Texans get into a 2,000-plus pound implement that's proven to be one of the deadliest weapons our society has ever seen. They think nothing of it. Yet, somehow, an average of 10 people don't make it home each day.

Seriously. Let's look at the numbers together. Last year alone we lost 3,577 people statewide - that's right on par (maybe a tick above) our annual average over the last decade-plus. About one-third of these fatalities were due to alcohol-related crashes. Another third were folks not buckled properly. Another 482 of the deaths were because someone wanted to check a text, email, tweet or facebook post.

Locally, we saw 193 people die in Bexar County last year. That's nearly 4 people every week. That's more than twice the number of firearms-related deaths last year. Of those 193 people, 48 percent were killed in alcohol-related crashes.

Forty. Eight. Percent.

That's absolutely inexcusable for our wonderful area - one with such a rich position in Texas' history deserves more than such an ignominious claim.

These are senseless, easily preventable deaths that destroy families and rob too many of loved ones. Together, we can give Texas a fatality free day again. We can End The Streak. Here's what we're doing:

• Implement high engineering standards in building our highway system
• Ask our public partners to spread the word on traffic safety
• Involve every resource we have, from social to traditional media, to engage in educational campaigns regarding safe driving practices

We can build our roads as safe as possible, but if people continue to refuse to use the road safely and responsibly we will continue to have this problem. As drivers and passengers, we're asking you to:

• Make a commitment to ensure all occupants of your vehicle are properly buckled, every single time
• Decide now to never drink and drive; one drink is far too many if you're planning to get behind the wheel of a car
• Pay attention to driving while you're in the drivers' seat; it's not a phone booth or a desk to check emails at, it's a driver's seat
• Obey the posted speed limits and drive at safe speeds when inclement weather requires it
• Help us spread the word by changing your profile pic (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) to all black and share our PSAs via your own social media channels, or share your own story

Remember, when we get into a driver's seat, our full attention needs to be on driving - no exceptions. These cars we drive can quickly become lethal weapons aimed at everything our headlights cast a beam upon. We need to respect them as such, and treat them with greater care when we're driving. Most of these roadway fatalities are completely preventable.

So we'll leave this post with a simple question: what are you doing to make the roads a little safer for your family and the families of those all around you?

Next week's construction-related closures

Note: no major closures will impact traffic to voting locations Tuesday, November 8.

I-35 – New Braunfels

• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes between the Hays-Comal county line and FM 306. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road. 
• Tuesday-Wednesday, November 8-9. 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Southbound main lanes at York Creek Bridge. The left lane will close while crews pour concrete. 

I-35 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday, November 6. 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Southbound frontage road between Walzem Road and I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews reopen the Walzem exit ramp. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound exit to westbound I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will exit Walzem and continue along the frontage road to reach I-410. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Frontage roads, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 
• Monday-Friday, November 7-11. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Frontage roads, both directions, between Rittiman and Walzem roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do road work. 

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between AT&T Center Parkway and Binz-Engleman. Alternating lanes will close while crews do finish work. 
• Monday-Friday, November 7-11. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Southbound main lanes between AT&T Center Parkway and Binz-Engleman. The right lane will close as needed to repair crash cushions. 
• Monday-Friday, November 7-11. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Frontage road, both directions, between AT&T Center Parkway and Binz-Engleman. The left lane will close while crews do finish work. 

I-410 – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday, November 6. 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Eastbound connector to southbound I-35. The ramp will close while crews open the southbound I-35 exit ramp to Walzem. Traffic will take northbound I-35 to Starlight Terrace, turn around and enter the southbound main lanes of I-35 to reach its destination. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound exit ramp to Randolph Boulevard and the city of Windcrest. The ramp will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will exit Thousand Oaks, turn around and return to Randolph Boulevard to reach its destination. 

I-410 – East San Antonio

• Current through Friday, December 2. Southbound main lanes over North WW White. The right lane will close while crews repair damaged bridge rail. 

I-410 – South San Antonio

• Sunday-Monday, November 6-7. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. Westbound frontage road at Goliad Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. 
• Sunday-Monday, November 6-7. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. Eastbound frontage road between Valley Hi and Medina Base Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. This closure includes the entrance before Valley Hi. Traffic will use the next available ramp. 

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Sunday-Thursday, November 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Somerset and Roosevelt roads. All lanes will close while crews resurface the road. Traffic will exit the highway, follow the frontage road and re-enter at the next available ramp. 
• Monday-Friday, November 7-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Marbach and Culebra roads. All lanes will close while crews work on overhead highway signs. Traffic will exit Hwy 151, follow the frontage roads and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp. 
• Monday-Friday, November 7-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road at Hwy 151. The right lane will close while crews move barrier. 

US Hwy 281 – Central San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Airport and Josephine. Alternating lanes will close while crews do bridge work. This closure includes ramps as needed. Traffic will follow the posted detour route. 
• Monday-Friday, November 7-11. 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between I-35 and I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews work on guardrail. This closure includes ramps as needed. Traffic will follow the posted detour route. 

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Sunday-Thursday, November 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road between Culebra Road and Alamo Ranch Parkway. All lanes will close while crews resurface the road. Traffic will use Westwood Loop to reach its destination. This closure includes the southbound exit to Alamo Ranch Parkway. Exiting traffic will use the Culebra Road exit. 

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until December 2016. Westbound exit ramp to Ingram and Potranco roads. The ramp will remain closed while crews install bridge support structures for the direct connector ramps being constructed. 

Other roads – Seguin

• Current until Saturday, December 31. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. King Street, both directions, between Cedar Street and US 90. All lanes will close while crews install storm drains and rebuild the road. Traffic will use Hwy 123 as a detour. 

Other roads – Boerne

• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Scenic Loop Road, both directions, at I-10. Traffic will be reduced to one-way, controlled by off-duty officers while crews do roadwork. 

Other roads – Northeast San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Randolph Boulevard, both directions, at I-35. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road and turn around at the next available intersection to reach its destination. 

Other roads – East Bexar County

• Saturday, November 5. 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. FM 78, both directions, at Loop 1604. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road. 

Other roads – Southeast Bexar County

• Saturday, November 5. 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. South Presa Street, both directions, between US Hwy 181 and I-37. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe intersections. 
• Sunday-Friday, November 6-11. 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Northbound WW White between the intersection of WW White and SE Military and I-10. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road. 

Other roads – West San Antonio

• Saturday, November 5. 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. West Military Drive, both directions, between Five Palms Drive and US Hwy 90. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe intersections. 

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday, November 7 until Monday, December 5. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Military Drive, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews do overhead bridge work. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage roads and turn around at the next intersection to reach its destination. 

All closures are pending weather.

Straight talk on the I-10 Leon Springs project

Work to convert the frontage roads on I-10 between Dominion Drive and Boerne Stage Road, including some operational improvements between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road, is now officially more than a month overdue.

Before we get into the details of what that means, let's talk about upcoming work schedules and what the area will look like - particularly around the shopping hub near Boerne Stage Road - through the Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus holidays.

What's happening

This week crews had Cielo Vista closed in halves to run drain structures across the road and reconstruct its connection with the eastbound frontage road of I-10. TSC's bridge crew is working to wrap up the reconstruction of the two-way bridge between Boerne Stage Road and Aue Road, with an aim to have it reopened in the next two weeks.

The road crew is working to blend the eastbound frontage road bridge over Leon Creek between the new Wal-Mart and Boerne Stage Road so it can be finished this month.

The dirt crew is working on the retaining walls and road path for the new exit and entrance ramps on the eastbound side of the highway between Boerne Stage and Dominion.

The concrete crew and electricians are wrapping up work at the intersection of the eastbound frontage road and Boerne Stage Road.

Where we'll be

The biggest takeaway for folks in the Leon Springs area is knowing that, before November 21, Texas Sterling Construction will have completed all major work between Ralph Fair Road and Boerne Stage Road. That means on both sides of the highway. One member of the project leadership team said that, weather notwithstanding, there is "no way" they won't have things finished to this point before November 21.

That means that bridge between Aue and Boerne Stage will be back open, helping traffic to and from Leon Springs Elementary School.

That means the eastbound frontage road will be at full capacity between Boerne Stage Road and Cielo Vista (though still down to one lane after Cielo Vista) and all the work across driveways up to Cielo Vista will be finished.

That means traffic between Ralph Fair and Boerne Stage - on both sided of I-10 - will be in its final configuration.

Note: We'll still need to lay our final surface of asphalt, final road striping and sodding ... all that will happen when everything else project-wide has finished.

Running behind

Those who've followed this project since its start in 2015 know we've been hit hard by rains and suffered a delay at the hands of utility conflicts. The potential of rain is built into our contracts, and are already accounted for. We might have a case to credit time back to the contract, but that's not typical for a project like this.

The utility delays are not reflected in the current estimate report on this project. When the project is finished we'll sit down with the contractor to determine exactly how much of a time impact the utility delays had on the project (based on critical path project management) and negotiate from there.

Until then, we are assessing liquidated damages of nearly $1300 per work day (five days per week, basically). Right now those charges could spell quickly a six-figure chunk taken out of the profit margin on the contract.

Looking ahead

Once work up to Cielo Vista is finished dirt crews will focus on and finish the footprint for the new eastbound entrance and exit ramps between Boerne Stage Road and Dominion Drive. You'll see concrete crews finish curb and sidewalk on both sides of the highway. Right now we're hoping to finish work by early 2017, and we'll then get to work on the final surface of asphalt. Remember paving is highly weather-sensitive and, though we'll be working to do it overnight so we don't impact daily traffic too much, if temperatures overnight are too cold we may need to look at other alternatives.

Big (temporary) traffic change for the 151-410 project

Beginning Monday and running until next spring the northbound I-410 exit ramp to Culebra Road will close while Williams Brothers works on the widening of the main lanes of I-410 and the frontage road, and reconstructs the new northbound exit ramp.

Well, that was a big ol' paragraph with a lot of information. Here's the break-down:

Closure

For those only worried about their commutes come Nov. 7, here's the must-know item: the northbound exit ramp to Culebra Road will close until spring 2017. You've got two options here, and depending on the traffic situation you may have a preference to think through.

Option one (our official option) is to exit Ingram Road, turn around at Ingram and return to Culebra on the southbound frontage road of I-410. The distance here makes this seem scary, and morning rush traffic may make approaching the Ingram intersection seem daunting. However, you'll find traffic in that left lane approaching Ingram is light and you have a dedicated turnaround to help you avoid the signal.

Option two is to exit Hwy 151 and pass through the Hwy 151 and Military Drive intersections, then continue on the frontage road to Culebra. If you hit the signals just right and traffic is light, this option may be viable - but it's not our top recommendation.
Bonus option: something of your own construct. Let's face it ... it's 2016. You've likely got a digital GPS giving you traffic updates in real time. You'll find an alternate route that's not listed here. If so, congratulations!

Why the closure

The short version is we're widening the main lanes and frontage road to accept the new direct connector to northbound I-410 from eastbound Hwy 151, which is why we've got that bridge work over Huebner Creek going right now. This exit ramp is scheduled to be shut down anyway, replaced with a ramp located around the current entrance from Military Drive. That means those trying to exit and get to that McDonald's right there won't have to bust over so many lanes so quickly any more - when we're all done, that is.

That ramp will be what's called a braided ramp; that is, the new exit ramp will bridge over the current entrance ramp from Military (so we're not moving the ramp from Military...). 

Still unclear? Check this footprint schematic out for a clearer picture.