I-35 SAMMC project: is the new ramp to Randolph/Starlight forever

We're sorry we weren't able to get anything out about this before the weekend; the switch kind of popped up on our communications team last week and we weren't able to get this done before now. We're sorry!
Here's a brief look at the new configuration of I-35 in the Windcrest area:

Mail Bag: West Military at Lp 1604, I-10 developments, FM 1103 and the New Braunfels Ave Bridge

I live in Rogers Ranch, and we see construction signs posted on Rogers Ranch Parkway for work on the intersection with 1604. Can you tell us what will be done there? We hope it will add turnaround lanes.
- Michael
Michael, we had several of your neighbors reach out on this. Perhaps you've already gotten word ... but if not, please spread the word now.
We've got a simple overlay project going on between Rogers Ranch Pkwy and Bandera Road. That means we'll be shaving off the top 2 inches or so of asphalt and replacing it with a fresh layer of asphalt. Work on the main lanes is overnight only - that stuff won't happen until we get back to warmer temperatures. During the daytime we're allowing the contractor to move forward with the frontage roads.
All told, you'll see us doing this work for the next nine months.
No turnaround lanes are coming ... yet. We do have a future project adding turnarounds, but we're about two years from seeking bids on that one. Sorry it's not sooner.

Just a quick observation on the I-10 east at 1516 frontage road conversion to one-way. Converting the frontage roads to one-way before the 1516 intersection improvements was a horrible idea and potentially more unsafe than two-way. There is lots and lots of traffic from the landfill and other businesses along the southern frontage road between Foster and FM 1516 that now has to travel east to the four-way stop at 1516. This has the frontage road extremely backed up. The exit ramp to 1516 is also backed up onto the highway causing an extremely unsafe condition of waiting to exit on the shoulder with traffic passing inches away at 70-plus miles per hour. It might be a good idea to get started on the 1516 intersection improvements soon!
- Marshall
Turnarounds at FM 1516 and Loop 1604 are not happening until a future project; those are not included in this project. That goes for the traffic signals at FM 1516 as well.
You'll see some improvement when the intersection at Woodlake Parkway is finished in 2018, and Texas Sterling Construction is working to build up the inside halves of the frontage roads so they can also build the new exit and entrance ramps. Both of these will help quite a bit.
Ultimately the decision to fast-track the conversion of frontage roads was made by our area engineer, who felt strongly this would improve safety by eliminating early the two-way frontage roads.

Why does TXDOT San Antonio keep listing Schertz as Selma in your weekly construction-related closures? Confusing.
- Concerned Citizen
We'd like to blame a map that's not incredibly clear on boundaries:

We drove through I-35 over the weekend to verify city limits and checked with our stakeholder lists, and found Selma isn't really involved here. We apologize for the error and any confusion it's brought - we should have verified this long ago. We have adjusted the most recent closures post to reflect the correction.

There have been a lot of crashes along I-10 between Boerne and 1604 since the recent construction projects. Is the traffic behaving as modeled? Should we anticipate further construction progress due to the continued development in the area?
- Rob
Any time a crash happens you can probably bet traffic isn't behaving as modeled.
We're not seeing a statistical spike in crashes along the I-10 corridor right now, but these crashes are typically more dramatic when a project is active.
As for continued development ... yes! We have a few major jobs still on their way over the next five years:

• Conversion of frontage roads to one-way between Fair Oaks Parkway and Balcones Creek
• Construction of a new overpass at Balcones Creek Parkway
• Conversion of frontage roads to one-way between Balcones Creek and Scenic Loop Road
• Conversion of frontage roads to one-way between Scenic Look Road and Hwy 46

Just to give you an idea.


What is going on with Military Drive West? We're currently on "traffic switch" number 2 but there is a new sign advising of a traffic switch on 18-18-17 - I assume that's supposed to be 10-18-17? Does this mean the traffic direction is going back to normal for now or are we going to be going sideways while driving backwards?
- Kim

Apologies for the typo in the digital message board. Those happen from time to time and we do our best to catch the issues quickly.
Where we know and have published several stages of traffic shifts, a generic "traffic switch" message on a board should alert folks to the next phase happening.
More to the point at this location: we will have the left turn lanes opened up in about a month (by time we reached the 18th we had traffic all where it started, except those turn lanes) with fresh striping to keep everyone in their lane. That will only last about 6-8 months, though, as we'll be ready to move traffic over onto the frontage road at that spot summer 2018.

I don't have a question....just a comment! I think you should KEEP the New Braunfels Avenue Bridge the way it is with the wonky arches.....it's one of a kind and a funny story!!!!
- Marci
We're glad you appreciated the story out there and are able to find some humor in it. We're still not going to keep the wonky arches. As we explained in our post the arches will be re-done once the remainder of the bridge is built and we can move traffic away from the edge there.

On the La Cantera Pkwy to Ralph Fair Rd project, I thought the work is only done on the inside lanes. Why are barriers being set on the outside as well? Also what is being done to the drain structure when going westbound right before Ralph Fair Rd light on Leon Creek? I thought that was done during the previous project?
- Danko
Let's start with the building one side and the other thing.
We're building on both sides of the road - first to the inside, then to the outside. In order to make room to fully build the new HOV lanes on the inside of the current main lanes, we're adding some "temporary" pavement to the outside. This will allow us to shift traffic over just a few feet so we can really get going on that inside lane.
As for the drain structure work that seems to be redone, we're not really re-doing any work done by Texas Sterling Construction in the previous project. Here we've got box culverts running under the main lanes of I-10 that need to be extended for the additional width of the highway.

Next week's construction-related closures

I-10 – Boerne

• Monday, October 30 until Wednesday, November 1. 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes at Exit 540. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road. This closure includes the exit to Hwy 46. Traffic will exit Business 87 (Exit 542) to reach its destination.

I-10 – Fair Oaks Ranch

• Tuesday, October 31, at 9 a.m. until Friday, December 29. Westbound frontage road at Old Fredericksburg Road. All lanes will close while crews replace drain structures. Traffic will follow the signed detour route, including a temporary route under the new overpass at Old Fredericksburg, to reach its destination.

I-10 – Leon Springs

• Saturday, October 28. 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Westbound main lanes between Dominion Drive and Boerne Stage Road. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Sunday, October 29 until Wednesday, November 1. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Sunday, October 29 until Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier.
• Sunday-Tuesday, November 5-7. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road.

I-10 – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday, October 30 until Friday, November 3. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between West Hollywood and Fredericksburg Road. The right lane will close while crews do concrete work.

I-35 – Schertz

• Current until October 2018. Frontage roads, both directions, at FM 1103. The right lane will close while crews replace the FM 1103 overpass bridge.

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Current until Monday, November 6. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between George Beach and Thousand Oaks. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt.
• Sunday, October 29 until Friday, November 3. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Broadway and I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews clean bridge joints.

I-37 – Downtown San Antonio

• Current and continuous until Friday, December 1 at 5 p.m. Northbound exit ramp to Florida and Carolina avenues (exit 140A). The ramp will close while crews rebuild the slope near the exit. Traffic will exit Cesar Chavez (exit 140B) and turn around to reach its destination.

I-410 – West San Antonio

• Current until Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Hwy 151 and Culebra Road. The left two lanes will close while crews work on overhead highway sign structures.
• Current until Wednesday, November 15. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Marbach and Hwy 151. Two right lanes will close while crews set barrier.
• Current until Wednesday, November 22. Northbound exit to Culebra Road. The exit will close while crews widen the main lanes and frontage road. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and get to Culebra on the southbound frontage road.
• Current until Sunday, November 26. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes and frontage roads at US Hwy 90. The right lane will close while crews work on overhead bridge support columns. This closure includes the ramp from westbound US 90. Traffic will head south to Valley Hi and turn around to reach its destination.
• Current until December 2018. Turnarounds, both directions, at Marbach Road. The turnarounds will remain closed while crews construct the new Marbach overpass bridge. Traffic will use the signalized intersection.

U.S. Hwy 90 – West San Antonio

• Current until Wednesday, November 15. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound frontage road between Ray Ellison and I-410. All lanes will close while crews set bridge panels. Traffic will use Crooked Trail and the southbound frontage road of I-410 to reach its destination.
• Sunday-Tuesday, October 29-31. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Westbound frontage road at I-410. Alternating lanes will close while crews work on overhead lights.
• Sunday-Tuesday, October 29-31. 9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes between Military Drive and I-410. All lanes will close while crews work on overhead highway signs. Traffic will exit I-410, follow the frontage road and re-enter at the next available ramp.
• Monday, October 30 at 8 p.m. until Tuesday, October 31 at 5 a.m. Westbound main lanes between I-410 and Hunt Lane. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday, October 30 at 9 p.m. until Tuesday, October 31 at 5 a.m. Main lanes, both directions, at Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews set overhead bridge support beams. Traffic will exit Loop 1604, continue through the intersection and re-enter the highway.
• Monday, October 30 until Wednesday, November 1. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes at I-410. All lanes will close while crews set bridge support beams overhead. Traffic will exit I-410, follow the frontage road and use the next available ramp to re-enter the highway.
• Monday, October 30 until Friday, November 3. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily. Westbound main lanes between Acme and Herbert. The right lane will close while crews drill foundations for street lights.

U.S. Hwy 281 – Near north San Antonio

• Monday-Tuesday, October 30-31. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Northbound exit ramp to Hildebrand. The exit will close as needed while crews work on guardrail. Crews will try to keep the ramp open as much as possible while work is done from the shoulder area.

U.S. Hwy 281 – North San Antonio

• Saturday, October 28. 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Saturday, October 28. 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Southbound frontage road between Sonterra Road and Loop 1604. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday, October 30-Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Wednesday-Friday, November 1-3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. All lanes will close while crews remove an overhead sign board. Traffic will exit Sonterra and re-enter the main lanes at the next available ramp.
• Monday-Friday, November 6-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Sonterra Road and Loop 1604. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road.
• Wednesday-Friday, November 8-10. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. All lanes will close while crews remove an overhead sign board. Traffic will exit Sonterra and re-enter the main lanes at the next available ramp.

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until December 22. Westbound exit to Hunt Lane. The exit will close while crews reconstruct the roadway to fit the future direct connector ramp from southbound I-410. Traffic will exit Ingram and follow the frontage road to reach its destination.

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Friday, January 26, 2018. North-to-south turnaround at Bandera Road. The turnaround will remain closed while crews do road work. Traffic will use the signalized intersection to turn around.

Other roads – West San Antonio

• Friday, October 27 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 30 at 5 a.m. Marbach Road, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews wreck overhead bridge structures. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road, turn around at the first available intersection and return to Marbach to reach its destination.
• Current until Friday, November 17. Dodge City, both directions, at Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews reconstruct the intersection. Traffic will use Emory Peak to reach its destination.
• Current until Friday, November 17. Red Musket, both directions, at Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews reconstruct the intersection. Traffic will use Spurs Ranch to reach its destination.
• Monday, October 30 until Friday, November 3. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Eastbound Potranco Road between Loop 1604 and Waterstone Place. Alternating lanes will close while crews build drain inlets.
• Monday, October 30 until Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Potranco Road, both directions, between Loop 1604 and Waterstone Place. Traffic will be down to a single lane while crews construct drain inlets. One lane, two-way traffic will be controlled by flaggers.
• Friday, November 17 at 9 p.m. until Monday, November 20 at 6 a.m. Marbach Road, both directions, west of Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews reconstruct the intersection. Traffic will use Emory Peak to reach its destination.
• Friday, December 1 at 9 p.m. until Monday, December 4 at 6 a.m. Marbach Road, both directions, west of Loop 1604. All lanes will close while crews reconstruct the intersection. Traffic will use Emory Peak to reach its destination.

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday, October 30. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. FM 1560, both directions, between Shaenfield Road and Braun Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the roadway. Traffic will be controlled by flaggers.

All closures are pending weather.

The New Braunfels Ave bridge debacle

About a year ago we started the process of replacing the old New Braunfels Avenue overpass - the old one was damaged and prone to getting hit by semi trucks. These bridge replacements are typically done in halves so we continue to carry traffic on the bridge while it's being built.
A few weeks ago we finished the first new half of the bridge and demolished the remainder of the old bridge. The new bridge had everything - sidewalks and decorative arches included.
It looks ... well, terrible.
No two ways about it, the concrete barrier along the new portion of the overpass we're building over I-35 near the Government Hill neighborhood didn't turn out the way it was planned.

First of all, the structural integrity of the bridge is fine - the issue is purely aesthetic. It's still super embarrassing for everyone involved. With that preface, let's get through the brass tacks here.

What in the heck happened?
The arched windows of the bridge rail are made by pieces of Styrofoam inside the concrete forms. When concrete was poured these Styrofoam chunks shifted. In some cases they shifted a lot. Nobody could see what was happening until the forms were removed, which happened the weekend we demolished the remainder of the old bridge.

Who was supposed to be watching this thing?
We have a consultant group watching our construction activity on this project. SAM-Construction Services has a team overseeing the work done by CRG, our prime contractor. In order to avoid project lag they asked Bexar Metro Area Engineer Eddie Reyes if they could demolish the old bridge the same weekend they had the new portions structurally ready for traffic - something that had initially been planned to happen at least a week prior to the demo work.
Since the problem happened inside a concrete form, nobody could see the issue until the forms were wrecked. The foam cutouts couldn't be observed; there was no way to know things had floated so far out of whack.

Did TxDOT pay for it?
Project Engineer Jon Green says we only paid labor costs and for some materials; we haven't paid for the whole bridge rail. That payment will come when the rail is reconstructed correctly.

How are we fixing this?
By time this defect was discovered the old bridge had already been demolished and we needed to be able to put traffic on the new bridge, where folks are driving today. With the tight constraints of the bridge we simply don't have enough workspace to solve the problem yet.
The good news: once the remaining half of the bridge is constructed we can move traffic away from the defective rail and reconstruct it. That will be done at CRG's cost.
In the meantime the project team is re-thinking the way the forms are made to prevent this frustration from happening on the other bridge rail.

What is the bridge going to look like?
This is answered better with some pictures - you should be able to click to enlarge.
Here's the overall bridge overview:

And the detail of the arches:

No, the arches won't be pointy:

Then there's the detail of the caps breaking up the archways:

And the center column of the bridge:

Loop 337 expansion in New Braunfels to start

A four-year, $43.3 million, project expanding Loop 337 to a four-lane divided highway between Hillcrest Drive and Altgelt Lane starts this week with Hunter Industries working immediately on setting barricades and on clearing work areas within right-of-way but off the existing road.
A formal groundbreaking by the city of New Braunfels will take place November 15 at 10 a.m. at the Oakwood Baptist Church.
Whew. That was a keyboardful. It gets you the nuts and bolts, though. Let's now turn to details.

Project overview
Loop 337 has long been a two-lane road looping around New Braunfels and connecting commercial hubs along the north end of the city, the growing west side and along the south end. We are expanding the road to a four-lane divided highway while adding sidewalks along the entire thing.
It's not an expressway, so current intersections will look pretty well the same - just with a whole lot more traffic capacity on Loop 337. This means existing bridges over Landa, Hwy 46 and Rock Street/Gruene Road will be expanded. Other intersections will remain signalized.

What to expect

First of all, this project will be going for about four years - expect work to continue through the end of 2021. Hunter Industries has a reputation in the New Braunfels community for moving projects along quickly and staying on schedule ... but that doesn't mean they'll be able to wrap up a four-year-job in two years. If you live, work or play along Loop 337 (which is pretty much all of New Braunfels) expect to see work every bit of those four years.
The good news is the work is almost entirely outside the active traffic lanes. Closures will be extremely minimal and limited to overnight hours between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. We won't be working Friday or Saturday nights. Hunter Industries will typically be out there six days a week.
By contract we won't close two consecutive intersections at the same time.
We are already aware of big events in the area - like Wurstfest or the Comal County Fair - and will make sure we're not getting in the way.

The first few weeks
The first work on any project is setting barrier and clearing right-of-way. None of that will impact your daily traffic.
Hunter wants to begin the heavy lifting by working on bridges - that work will be, after all, the heaviest of the project. We have seven bridges being built on the job, and Hunter's folks say they'd like to begin on the bridges over Gruene Road and over the Guadalupe River.
None of this work will impact daily traffic.

If you're a Unicorn

Don't plan on using construction as an excuse for being late to class, first of all. We will not be doling out excuse slips for students any time soon.
During the first phase of work you'll see no change in the way traffic moves in front of New Braunfels High School. That first phase will last about two years.
Come time this year's freshmen are getting ready to drive we'll have southbound traffic all on the new lanes and kids coming out of the school will need to use turnarounds designed to make the corridor safer to reach the new lanes. We'll have details about the daily view of traffic during later phases when they come about.

Phasing
The first phase will construct - almost completely - the new southbound lanes. This includes all seven new bridges as well as new sidewalks. Crossovers along the route between the northbound and southbound lanes will be built at this stage as well. The first phase will take about two years.
During phases two and three we'll move southbound traffic onto its new path (but it'll still just be one lane) and keep the northbound side where it's at while we rebuild the northbound lanes in halves.  Each of these phases will take about a year.
The final phase, which will only take a few months, will be the final surface of asphalt.

Next week's construction-related closures

I-10 – Seguin

• Saturday, October 21. 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Westbound main lanes between FM 78 and Hwy 46. The right lane will close while crews install highway signs.

I-10 – Boerne

• Monday-Wednesday, October 23-25. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes at Exit 540. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road.

I-10 – Fair Oaks Ranch

• Saturday, October 21. 5:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and Fair Oaks Parkway. The left lane will close while crews seed the center median.
• Monday, October 30 at 9 a.m. until Friday, December 29. Westbound frontage road at Old Fredericksburg Road. All lanes will close while crews replace drain structures. Traffic will follow the signed detour route to reach its destination.

I-10 – Leon Springs

• Sunday-Wednesday, October 22-25. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. The left lane will close while crews lay asphalt and set barrier.
• Sunday, October 29 until Wednesday, November 1. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Sunday, October 22 at 7 p.m. until Monday, October 23 at 5 a.m. Frontage roads, both directions, at Foster Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier.

I-35 – Austin

• Monday-Wednesday, October 23-25. 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes at Oltorf Street. All lanes will close while crews set bridge support beams overhead. Traffic will exit Oltorf, continue through the intersection and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp.
• Wednesday-Friday, October 25-27. 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Oltorf Street. All lanes will close while crews set bridge support beams overhead. Traffic will exit Oltorf, continue through the intersection and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp.

I-35 – Selma

• Current until October 2018. Frontage roads, both directions, at FM 1103. The right lane will close while crews replace the FM 1103 overpass bridge.

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Sunday, October 22 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 23 at 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes at Walzem Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt.
• Monday, October 23 until Monday, November 6. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between George Beach and Thousand Oaks. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt.

I-37 – Downtown San Antonio

• Current and continuous until Friday, December 1 at 5 p.m. Northbound exit ramp to Florida and Carolina avenues (exit 140A). The ramp will close while crews rebuild the slope near the exit. Traffic will exit Cesar Chavez (exit 140B) and turn around to reach its destination.

I-410 – Northeast San Antonio

• Friday, October 20 at 7 p.m. until Monday, October 23 at 5 a.m. Eastbound connector to northbound I-35. The two right lanes will close while crews do road work. This closure includes the exit to Walzem Road. Traffic will turn around at Thousand Oaks to reach Walzem Road.

I-410 – West San Antonio

• Current until Tuesday, October 31. Northbound exit to Culebra Road. The exit will close while crews widen the main lanes and frontage road. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and get to Culebra on the southbound frontage road.
• Current until Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Hwy 151 and Culebra Road. The left two lanes will close while crews work on overhead highway sign structures.
• Current until December 2018. Turnarounds, both directions, at Marbach Road. The turnarounds will remain closed while crews construct the new Marbach overpass bridge. Traffic will use the signalized intersection.
• Friday, October 20 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 22 at 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Hwy 151 and US Hwy 90. All lanes will close while crews shift traffic over Marbach Road. Traffic will exit Marbach Road, continue along the frontage road and use the next available ramp to re-enter the highway. Left turns onto Marbach will be restricted during this closure.
• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road between Waters Edge Drive and Marbach. The right lane will close while crews do road work.
• Monday, October 23 until Wednesday, November 15. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Marbach and Hwy 151. Two right lanes will close while crews set barrier.

U.S. Hwy 90 – West San Antonio

• Current until Wednesday, November 15. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound frontage road between Ray Ellison and I-410. All lanes will close while crews set bridge panels. Traffic will use Crooked Trail and the southbound frontage road of I-410 to reach its destination.
• Monday-Tuesday, October 23-24. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Westbound frontage road between Rockgate Drive and Colt Drive. The left lane will close while crews do concrete work.
• Wednesday-Friday, October 25-27. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between I-410 and Military Drive. The left lane will close while crews do concrete work.

U.S. Hwy 281 – North San Antonio

• Saturday, October 21. 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Northbound frontage road between Loop 1604 and Sonterra Road. The right lane will close while crews set temporary traffic barrier.
• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. The left two lanes will close while crews restripe the road.
• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road between Sonterra Road and Loop 1604. The right two lanes will close while crews set barrier.
• Saturday, October 28. 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Saturday, October 28. 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Southbound frontage road between Sonterra Road and Loop 1604. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday, October 30-Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes at Sonterra Road. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.

U.S. Hwy 281 – Near north San Antonio

• Sunday-Tuesday, October 22-24. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Olmos Basin and Airport Road. The left two lanes will close while crews work on bridge joints.
• Monday, October 23 at 9 p.m. until Tuesday, October 24 at 6 a.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Josephine and Hildebrand. The left lane will close while crews do concrete work.

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Friday- Sunday, October 20-22. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, at Hunt Lane. All lanes will close while crews do road work. Traffic will exit Ingram or Hunt Lane, continue through the intersections and use the next available ramp.

Loop 1604 – North San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound frontage road between US 281 and Stone Oak Parkway. The two left lanes will close while crews set barrier.

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Friday, January 26, 2018. North-to-south turnaround at Bandera Road. The turnaround will remain closed while crews do road work. Traffic will use the signalized intersection to turn around.
• Saturday, October 21. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Southbound main lanes at Medio Creek. The right lane will close while crews set bridge support beams.

Other roads – New Braunfels

• Current until Friday, October 27. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Southbound Hwy 46 between County Road 127 and Cloud Lane. The right lane will close while crews drill support structures for new traffic signals.

Other roads – Seguin

• Saturday, October 21. 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Southbound Hwy 46 between FM 78 and I-10. The left lane will close while crews install signs.

Other roads – East San Antonio

• Saturday, October 21. 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. Southbound New Braunfels Avenue at the southbound I-35 frontage roads. All lanes will close while crews adjust and relocate a fire hydrant. Traffic will travel north on the I-35 frontage road, turn right onto Benito Street, Right onto Osburn Street and then left onto New Braunfels avenue to reach its destination.

Other roads – West San Antonio

• Friday, October 27 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 30 at 5 a.m. Marbach Road, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews wreck overhead bridge structures. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road, turn around at the first available intersection and return to Marbach to reach its destination.

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Bandera Road, both directions, between Diamond K Trail and Old Bandera Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews install conduit across the road.
• Friday, October 27 and Monday, October 30. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. FM 1560, both directions, between Shaenfield Road and Braun Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews repair the roadway. Traffic will be controlled by flaggers.

All closures are pending weather.

Mail Bag: Hwy 151 at Hunt Lane, traffic counts and the future of 1604 and 151

Where can I find statistics that will tell me the approximate increase in vehicles or road usage over the last 10-15 years invarious areas of the city or county?
- Canny
So, we have maps showing the average number of trips on our roads ranging back to 2010, but not before then. You may want to check with the city or the county for traffic counts on roads not part of the TxDOT system.
When you do check out our map, keep in mind the blue numbers show the average daily traffic at that spot.

When is the Hunt Lane exit on 151 going to open?
- Sarah
What's going on with 151? Hunt Lane exit has been closed for almost 3 months when it should have been closed for 1 month. Also, it looks like they are ripping apart the walls of the highway exits. Please explain to us what it going on. My entire neighborhood is getting annoyed and confused.
- Fred
The latest schedule shows opening by Thanksgiving. We still have a retaining wall to finish up and lay asphalt out there. If Williams Brothers Construction is able to continue at their current pace we are only a matter of weeks from being ready to open things back up.
I was wondering why the lights on Alamo Ranch Parkway were not sync'd to allow traffic to flow better. Seems like you have to stop every time.
- Chris
We know you hate the answer, but those signals aren't under TxDOT control. They belong to Bexar County Public Works - they should have more information than we do about the timing strategy of that signal.

I know the original plans for the 151-1604 interchange did not include a flyover between 151-West and 1604-North. Is there any possibility of one in the near future?
- Peter
Great question, Peter. We just brought a consultant on board to study a variety of options for this location - we have to look at options with a variety of budget levels - and will begin fleshing these options out. We do not yet have funding for anything right there, but that could come as the need is quantified and the options identified clearly.
The bad news: any changes are at least a few years out, so you won't see anything coming before 2020 (barring some sort of miraculous windfall). We do want your neighbors to know we are mindful of the issue, though, and we are working on a solution.

I love how 24 hours a day 6 days a week has turned into a few minutes a day, five days a week for the 1103 bridge replacement. Heck, now you have even changed the closures to 9 am to 5 pm, hardly the 24 hours a day you advertised.
- Laughable
To be honest, Laughable, this one is the fault of our communications team. During our preconstruction meeting we asked whether we would be working around-the-clock and thought we were told that would happen. The contractor has the ability to work either day or night, and crews will be splitting time between both overnight and daytime shifts. If they work overnight, you won't see anything during the day - and vice versa. While we'll have a smattering of both, it won't be around-the-clock work as initially published.
This was a misunderstanding on our part - we are sorry.
Either way, we're still making headway on the project and will wrap up spring 2019.

Next week's construction-related closures

I-10 – Boerne

• Wednesday, October 18 at 9 p.m. until Thursday, October 19 at 6 a.m. Westbound main lanes at Exit 540. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road.

I-10 – Fair Oaks Ranch

• Monday, October 23 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday, December 29. Westbound frontage road at Old Fredericksburg Road. All lanes will close while crews replace drain structures. Traffic will follow the signed detour route to reach its destination.

I-10 – Leon Springs

• Monday-Thursday, October 16-19. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Pkwy. The left lane will close while crews lay asphalt.

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Saturday, October 14 between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Frontage roads, both directions, between Foster and Graytown roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews convert the frontage roads to one-way only. This change is permanent. When work is finished each frontage road will have only one lane until the project is finished.
• Saturday, October 21 at 6 a.m. until Monday, October 23 at 5 a.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Foster Road and FM 1516. All lanes will close while crews set bridge support beams. Eastbound traffic will exit Foster Road and westbound traffic will exit FM 1516. Both directions will follow the frontage road and re-enter the highway at the next available ramp. Please note the frontage roads on both sides will be a single lane.

I-10 – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between West Hollywood and Fredericksburg Road. The right lane will close while crews do concrete work.

I-35 – New Braunfels

• Tuesday, October 17 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Main lanes, both directions, at York Creek and Alligator Creek. Alternating lanes will close while crews replace the curb.

I-35 – Selma

• Current until October 2018. Frontage roads, both directions, at FM 1103. The right lane will close while crews replace the FM 1103 overpass bridge.
• Wednesday-Thursday, October 11-12. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road at FM 1103. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road to a single lane. This closure includes the exit ramp to FM 1103. The ramp will reopen by the end of the day; the frontage road will remain at a single lane until the end of 2018.

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Current until Monday, October 23. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between George Beach and Thousand Oaks Drive. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt.
• Sunday-Friday, October 15-20. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Broadway and I-410. The two left lanes will close while crews work on bridge joints.
• Sunday-Friday, October 15-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound main lanes between I-410 and Broadway. Alternating lanes will close while crews seal coat the shoulders.
• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road connector to the southbound I-410 connector ramp. The left lane will close while crews work on guardrail.

I-37 – Downtown San Antonio

• Current and continuous until Friday, December 1 at 5 p.m. Northbound exit ramp to Florida and Carolina avenues (exit 140A). The ramp will close while crews rebuild the slope near the exit. Traffic will exit Cesar Chavez (exit 140B) and turn around to reach its destination.

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, October 15-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. daily. Eastbound main lanes between Vance-Jackson and Blanco roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews do concrete work. This closure includes entrance and exit ramps as needed. Traffic will use the next available ramp to reach its destination.

I-410 – West San Antonio

• Current until Tuesday, October 31. Northbound exit to Culebra Road. The exit will close while crews widen the main lanes and frontage road. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and get to Culebra on the southbound frontage road.
• Sunday, October 15 until Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Hwy 151 and Culebra Road. The left two lanes will close while crews work on overhead highway sign structures.
• Monday, October 16 at 9 p.m. until Tuesday, October 17 at 5 a.m. Frontage roads, both directions, between Hwy 151 and Culebra Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews work on traffic signals.
• Friday, October 20 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 22 at 5 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Hwy 151 and US Hwy 90. All lanes will close while crews shift traffic over Marbach Road. Traffic will exit Marbach Road, continue along the frontage road and use the next available ramp to re-enter the highway. Left turns onto Marbach will be restricted during this closure.

U.S. Hwy 90 – West San Antonio

• Monday-Tuesday, October 16-17. 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Westbound main lanes between Medio Creek and Loop 1604. The left lane will close while crews do concrete work.
• Tuesday-Thursday, October 17-19. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Westbound frontage road between Herbert Lane and Leon Creek. The left lane will close while crews drill for support foundations.
• Thursday, October 19. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Westbound frontage road between Leon Creek and old US 90. The right lane will close while crews drill for support foundations.
• Thursday, October 19. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Westbound frontage road between Rockgate and Colt Street. The left lane will close while crews drill for support foundations.

U.S. Hwy 281 – North San Antonio

• Saturday, October 21. 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. Southbound frontage road between Sonterra Road and Loop 1604. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Frontage Road Exit and Sonterra Road. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier.

U.S. Hwy 281 – Near north San Antonio

• Monday, October 16 at 9 p.m. until Tuesday, October 17 at 6 a.m. Main lanes, both directions, between I-37 and I-410. The right lane will close while crews work on guardrails.

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Wednesday-Friday, October 18-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Frontage roads, both directions, at Ingram Road. The right lane will close while crews work on traffic signals.

Loop 1604 – North San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. West-to-east turnaround at US 281. The turnaround will close while crews do bridge work. Traffic will use the signalized intersection to reach its destination.
• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes at US 281. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound main lanes between Stone Oak Parkway and Cold Canyon Road. The right lane will close while crews set barrier. This closure includes the direct connector to southbound US 281. Traffic will exit northbound US 281 and use the frontage roads to reach southbound US 281.
• Monday-Friday, October 23-27. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound frontage road between US 281 and Stone Oak Parkway. Alternating lanes will close while crews set barrier.

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Friday, January 26, 2018. North-to-south turnaround at Bandera Road. The turnaround will remain closed while crews do road work. Traffic will use the signalized intersection to turn around.
• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound frontage road at Bandera Road. The right turn lane will close while crews do road work.
• Saturday, October 21. 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Southbound main lanes at Medio Creek. The right lane will close while crews set bridge support beams.

Other roads – New Braunfels

• Monday, October 16 until Friday, October 27. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Southbound Hwy 46 between County Road 127 and Cloud Lane. The right lane will close while crews drill support structures for new traffic signals.

Other roads – West San Antonio

• Friday, October 13 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 16 at 5 a.m. Marbach Road, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews wreck overhead bridge structures. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road, turn around at the first available intersection and return to Marbach to reach its destination.
• Sunday, October 16 until Friday, November 3. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Hunt Lane, both directions, at Hwy 151. All lanes will close while crews work on the overhead bridge. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road and turn around at the next available intersections.
• Friday, October 27 at 8 p.m. until Monday, October 30 at 5 a.m. Marbach Road, both directions, at I-410. All lanes will close while crews wreck overhead bridge structures. Traffic will turn right onto the frontage road, turn around at the first available intersection and return to Marbach to reach its destination.

Other roads – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 16-20. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound Bandera Road between Legend Trail and Stonecroft. The right lane and right turn lane will close while crews do road work.

All closures are pending weather.

I-10 frontage roads at Old Fred Rd

We've gotten all of your calls and emails regarding the upcoming closure of the I-10 frontage road at Old Fred Road. We made a video explaining what traffic will do during this closure.
Note: This closure is located near the Mr. W Fireworks stand, not the intersection of Fair Oaks Parkway.

UPDATE (18 Oct): Paving for the temporary detour under the I-10 main lanes has been stalled, pushing this closure to start the morning of Monday, October 30

Some quick hits on the Lp 1604 expansion

Can you believe we've been running more than a year on the expansion of Loop 1604 between Hwy 151 and US Hwy 90?
We can't - and we're shocked (and a little ashamed) we've not provided an update since ... well ... it's been a while.
With that in mind we wanted to get you a look at what's happening. We want to do it quick, so we're doing it with bullet points. If you hold out to the end you can see what's going on with other portions of Loop 1604 as well.

Hwy 151 to Potranco

• Work on the Military Drive intersection is plugging along and should wrap up by the end of the month, as indicated earlier.
• We had to add retaining walls along the southbound frontage roads due to steeper slopes than what was originally envisioned during the design process.
• Due to the above change a planned traffic shift for later this year has been moved (tentatively) to summer 2018. This date could change if weather and other issues don't work out our way.
• Zachry Construction is running ahead of schedule, which will mitigate the schedule impact from the retaining wall issue. Between that speed and some out-of-sequence work on the northbound frontage roads that will start soon, you should be able to use the new express lanes by end of summer 2019.

Potranco to US 90

• You're likely seeing lots of digging for the road bed between Emory Peak and Potranco - this will eventually be the southbound frontage road.
• Dirt and bridge crews are working on a retaining wall for what will be an overpass at Dove Canyon.
• Bridge crews are working on supporting foundations for the direct connector for southbound Loop 1604 to eastbound US 90.
• The bridge for what will be the southbound main lanes over Marbach is starting to take shape, as are bridges at Medio Creek and at US 90.
• The easiest thing to see for most folks is the progress on those bridges, which continues steadily.
• Webber Construction is currently on pace to wrap up fall 2019.

Other spots on Loop 1604

• We just held an open house about the future of the segment between US 90 and I-35; that information is all posted online.
• We also have plans for US 281 on the southeast side of Bexar County, which have been presented publicly in recent months.
• The TTC just approved funds for the RMA to develop the MPO's plan to expand Loop 1604 between Bandera Road and I-35 on the north end of town. Was that enough "alphabet soup"? TTC = Texas Transportation Commission, RMA = Regional Mobility Authority, MPO = Metropolitan Planning Organization.
• We have a project expanding Loop 1604 between Pat Booker Road and FM 78 on deck for next year (no right-of-way is needed for this work), and another job continuing that expansion all the way to Judson is right on the heels.

This week's construction-related closures

I-10 – Boerne

• Thursday, October 12 at 9 p.m. until Friday, October 13 at 6 a.m. Westbound main lanes at Exit 540. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road.
• Tuesday, October 17 at 9 p.m. until Wednesday, October 18 at 6 a.m. Westbound main lanes at Exit 540. The right lane will close while crews resurface the road.

I-10 – Fair Oaks Ranch

• Monday, October 23 at 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday, December 29. Westbound frontage road at Old Fredericksburg Road/Buckskin Drive. All lanes will close while crews replace drain structures. Traffic will follow the signed detour route to reach its destination.

I-10 – Leon Springs

• Monday-Thursday, October 9-12. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Ralph Fair Road and La Cantera Parkway. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.

I-10 – East San Antonio

• Monday, October 9 at 8 p.m. until Tuesday, October 10 at 5 a.m. Westbound main lanes between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Roland Avenue. The left lane will close while crews move barrier and striping.
• Saturday, October 14 between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Frontage roads, both directions, between Foster and Graytown roads. Alternating lanes will close while crews convert the frontage roads to one-way only. This change is permanent. When work is finished each frontage road will have only one lane.

I-10 – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 9-12. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road connector to the westbound frontage road of I-410. The right lane will close while crews pour concrete.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. daily. Eastbound main lanes between Callaghan Road and Crossroads. The right lane will close while crews pour concrete. This closure includes the exit ramp to Crossroads.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between Callaghan Road and Vega Drive. The right lane will close while crews pour concrete.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road connector to the westbound frontage road of I-410. The right lane will close while crews pour concrete.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between West Hollywood and Fredericksburg Road. The right lane will close while crews work on sidewalks.
• Wednesday-Thursday, October 11-12. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between Crossroads and Vance Jackson. The left lane will close while crews pour concrete.

I-35 – Selma

• Current until October 2018. Frontage roads, both directions, at FM 1103. The right lane will close while crews replace the FM 1103 overpass bridge.
• Wednesday-Thursday, October 11-12. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Southbound frontage road at FM 1103. Alternating lanes will close while crews restripe the road to a single lane. This closure includes the exit ramp to FM 1103. The ramp will reopen by the end of the day; the frontage road will remain at a single lane until the end of 2018.

I-35 – East San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, October 8-13. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Broadway and I-410. The left two lanes will close while crews repair bridge joints.
• Monday, October 9 until Monday, October 23. Northbound main lanes between George Beach and Thousand Oaks Drive. Alternating lanes will close while crews lay asphalt.
• Tuesday-Thursday, October 10-12. 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Main lanes, both directions, between Broadway and I-410. The left two lanes will close while crews pour concrete.

I-37 – Downtown San Antonio

• Current and continuous until Friday, December 1 at 5 p.m. Northbound exit ramp to Florida and Carolina avenues (exit 140A). The ramp will close while crews rebuild the slope near the exit. Traffic will exit Cesar Chavez (exit 140B) and turn around to reach its destination.

I-410 – Northwest San Antonio

• Monday-Thursday, October 9-12. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Eastbound frontage road between Fredericksburg Road and Crossroads. The left lane will close while crews do concrete work.

I-410 – West San Antonio

• Current until Tuesday, October 31. Northbound exit to Culebra Road. The exit will close while crews widen the main lanes and frontage road. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, turn around and get to Culebra on the southbound frontage road.
• Sunday-Friday, October 8-13. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between US 90 and Hwy 151. The two right lanes will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Hwy 151 and Culebra Road. The left two lanes will close while crews work on overhead highway sign supports.
• Tuesday, October 10 at 9 p.m. until Wednesday, October 11 at 5 a.m. Frontage roads, both directions, at Military Drive. Alternating lanes will close while crews install new traffic signals.

U.S. Hwy 90 – West San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Eastbound frontage road between Hunt Lane and I-410. The left lane will close while crews do overhead concrete work.

U.S. Hwy 281 – North San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Northbound exit ramp to Sonterra Road. The ramp will close while crews set barrier and mark pavement. Traffic will use the frontage road ramp to reach its destination.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road at Sonterra Road. The left lane will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Southbound frontage road between Sonterra Road and Loop 1604. The right two lanes will close while crews set barrier.

U.S. Hwy 281 – Near north San Antonio

• Sunday-Friday, October 8-13. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Olmos Basin and I-410. The two right lanes will close while crews stripe the road. This closure includes ramps as needed.
• Sunday-Friday, October 8-13. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Northbound main lanes between Olmos Basin and Jones Maltsberger. The left lanes will close while crews repair bridge joints.
• Sunday-Friday, October 8-13. 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly. Main lanes, both directions, between Josephine and I-410. The right lane will close while crews restripe the road. This closure includes ramps as needed.
• Monday, October 9 at 9 p.m. until Tuesday, October 10 at 6 a.m. Main lanes, both directions, between Jones-Maltsberger and Mulberry. The two right lanes will close while crews pour concrete.

Hwy 151 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Friday, October 13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes between Ingram Road and Military Drive. All lanes will close while crews work on the Hunt Lane overpass bridge. Traffic will exit Ingram Road, continue through the intersections and re-enter after Hunt Lane.

Loop 1604 – North San Antonio

• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound frontage road at US 281. The westbound-to-eastbound turnaround will close while crews set barrier.
• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly. Westbound main lanes at US 281. The right lane will close while crews set barrier.

Loop 1604 – Northwest San Antonio

• Current until Friday, January 26. North-to-south turnaround at Bandera Road. The turnaround will remain closed while crews do road work. Traffic will use the signalized intersection to turn around.

Other roads – Helotes

• Monday-Friday, October 9-13. 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. Circle A Trail at Bandera Road. The southbound lane will close while crews set barrier. Traffic will be one-way controlled by a flagger.

Other roads – Boerne

• Monday, October 9 at 9 p.m. until Tuesday, October 10 at 5 a.m. Scenic Loop Road, both directions, at I-10. All lanes will close while crews place concrete. Traffic will turn around at Balcones Creek to reach its destination.

All closures are pending weather.

Northbound I-410 closure this weekend

We've gotta be honest - this one got jumbled in our schedule a bit. This alert should have gone out at least two days ago. It didn't. That's entirely on us and a schedule oversight this week.

Williams Brothers Construction will close all lanes of northbound I-410 between US Hwy 90 and Hwy 151 Saturday at 2 a.m. until Monday at 5 a.m.

This closure follows a brief overnight closure of southbound I-410 between Hwy 151 and US 90 starting tonight at 8 p.m. going until about 2 a.m. tomorrow. Only one direction of traffic will be closed at a time.

Here's the closure narrative in our traditional format:

• Friday, October 6 at 8 p.m. until Saturday, October 7 at 2 a.m. Southbound main lanes between Marbach and Valley Hi. All lanes will close while crews work on center median barrier. Traffic will exit Marbach, continue along the frontage road through Marbach Road and re-enter the highway before Valley Hi.
• Saturday, October 7 at 2 a.m. until Monday, October 9 at 5 a.m. Northbound main lanes between US Hwy 90 and Hwy 151. All lanes will close while crews reconfigure the road. Traffic will exit US Hwy 90, continue along the frontage road through the Marbach intersection and re-enter at the next available ramp. Traffic will remain in the right lane until after Hwy 151.

During the closure of the northbound main lanes the turnarounds at Marbach will close and left turns onto or off of Marbach at I-410 will be heavily restricted by the off-duty officers controlling traffic at the intersection for the weekend. If you're looking to turn left onto Marbach off of I-410 you may want to find another way. If not you'll end up staying on the frontage road to the next available turnaround to return to the intersection. If you're in the southbound lanes that means going all the way down to Valley Hi to turn around.

The turnarounds will remain closed until the new bridge is complete spring of 2020.

This weekend’s closure allows Williams Brothers to shift traffic toward the center median over the Marbach Road overpass bridge. The Marbach Road overpass bridge is being reconstructed and widened to accommodate lanes headed to and coming from two new direct connectors being built at the intersection of I-410 and U.S. 90. A similar shift with accompanying closures on the southbound side will come October 20-23. With all lanes running in the middle of the bridge Williams Brothers will be able to reconstruct the outer portion of the bridge.

The reconstruction work starts by demolishing the outer edge of the existing bridge. Williams brother will tear out the edge of the northbound bridge October 13-16 and will wreck the edge of the southbound bridge October 27-30. Both weekends Marbach Road will close under I-410 and the frontage road on the side of the demolition activity will likely have some corresponding closures. Those details will be published in our weekly closure report.

You catch all that? Here's a little easier way to look at it:

• October 7-9 - Full closure of northbound main lanes between US 90 and Hwy 151
• October 13-16 - Full closure of Marbach at I-410, closure of northbound frontage road (will still have one lane open)
• October 20-23 - Full closure of southbound main lanes between Hwy 151 and US 90
• October 27-30 - Full closure of Marbach at I-410, closure of northbound frontage road (will still have one lane open)

Work on the $72.4 million project started January 2017 and will wrap up mid-2020.

Mail Bag: Ideas from New Mexico and our past; a history question

What retail businesses and restaurants can we expect on 281 N near TPC Parkway?
- Tania
Honestly, Tania, your guess is as good as ours. We can only bet the business corridor will continue to develop up that way the way it has over the last decade-plus.

Why doesn't TxDOT utilize the white canvas shields that block motorists views of construction projects? New Mexico employed these shields when the I-25/I-40 exchange was rebuilt. It minimized the traffic slowdown since motorist were no longer distracted by the construction since they could not see it.
- Vicky
You know, this question intrigued us. We got on the phone and actually called the good folks with the New Mexico Department of Transportation to chat a bit and are happy to share what we found.
First, the only major project NMDOT used these "gawk shields" (their term) was on the "Big I" project - construction of the major interchange of I-25 and I-40 in the heart of Albuquerque back in 2002. These were not widely used, and have not been used since.
Per the NMDOT, the shields were basically two-foot-tall planks of plywood fixed via two-by-fours to the top of concrete barriers along the work zones. While it did create a visual barrier to prevent gawking (thus the name of these shields), they don't comply with current safety regulations as a barricade. Those familiar with working on projects involving federal funding know such violations disqualify a project from receiving federal dollars.
So to answer your question directly, Vicky, we won't be employing Gawk Shields until we can find a way to get them to comply with federal safety standards - and, even then, it appears these shields would be used pretty sparingly.

When was the DeZavala exit closed to combine with the new Woodstone/DeZavala exit?
- Demetrio
Ah, geez, Demetrio. That's really digging into our memory banks!
Looking through posts back in 2014 it seems that happened June (or perhaps July) of 2014. We had a firm schedule for June 19, then had some weather issues that summer that pushed our work to mid-July.
That's the closest we can get through our searches. Hope that helps!

The amber color is difficult to read on the lighted road signs in many cases. Also, when there is a lot of information on the sign, there should be more than one sign (kind of like the old "Burma-Shave" signs) of many years ago where you can read ALL of the information - going too fast to read on one sign as they are now.
- Glenna

Holy smokes - those Burma-Shave signs are old-school! Those are still used by businesses around the country, though we've not used them on our projects for a number of years.
We actually have a standard we have to follow when using our portable changeable message boards. These standards are found in section 6F.60 in the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Particular to your question, we'll look at paragraphs 11-12 and 20-21.
First, we have to keep each panel active at least two seconds (no more than eight) before changing to the next panel. We typically shoot for about four seconds, sometimes five. The lettering is supposed to be visible from about a half-mile in both day and night conditions. That's typically done by adjusting the brightness of the lights. Against the black background on these signs to provide contrast, that's our best practice.
We can use LED message boards - that's allowed, but involves some additional issues - but don't because of the increased cost. Honestly, we simply request a "portable changeable message board" and let the contractor figure out which one makes most economic sense to use.

North Austin project in Seguin picking up steam

Up to now most of the work along North Austin Street (Business 123) in Seguin has been about installing drain systems and moving around utilities. This is the least flashy part of any type of road construction, and often the more disruptive. The specialized crews are often smaller and work is typically done only in a few spots at a time. Despite the appearance of sporadic work it's kept the road to a one-way road since work got started back in 2016.

The good news is all that messy stuff is part of the drawn-out early phases of the project. Curran Contracting is about ready to move into the more visible road construction phases. They do have some storm drains still to install - notably along Seidmann Street just west of North Austin - but are pretty much focusing on the actual road bed. They've already had some dirt crews getting the road bed ready by cutting the dirt down to the right elevation, but weather over the last several weeks has slowed production considerably. When you're trying to work with and stabilize dirt, a good rain pushes work back several days - crews have to wait for the ground to dry out completely to get good work done. As soon as dry weather clears out the moisture in the dirt, Curran will lime treat the subgrade. After the lime treatment is finished, the subgrade will be cement treated. If weather holds all this should be wrapped up right about the time we're all tucked away for our long winter's nap.

About the beginning of 2018 you'll see asphalt on the road. On top of the 18 inches of dirt subgrade we are placing at least eight inches of asphalt. We want this road to last a while! When we start laying asphalt we can open lanes back up to two-way traffic on the new pavement.

Let's say that again, another way.

One-way traffic is expected to be over, forever, in January. We will still have work to do, but your greatest inconveniences will be done. And for those who forgot what this $5.3 million project will look like when we're all done, here you go (click to enlarge):

Mail Bag: some quick questions on US 281

The amount of dirt and rock moving on the US 281 expansion north of Loop 1604 is impressive. I haven't noticed any changes to traffic signals or lane configurations, yet the south bound morning commute seems longer. I'm looking forward to improvements, but I'm curious about the intermediate changes.
What will be the first changes to the traffic pattern, e.g., Loop 1604 connectors, frontage roads? Thanks for keeping us informed.
- Tom
Pictures most often do the best explaining, so take a look at these step-by-step graphics as to how traffic is going to be shifted during the building process:

The current phase of work focuses on the new frontage roads and the early stages of the Loop 1604 direct connectors. Once that's done crews will re-establish the current superstreet configuration for use until we are almost ready to open overpasses.
When we get to phase two you'll see the main lanes totally rebuilt, the overpasses go up and the HOV lanes built.
When we're all done, it'll look like this:

What tree plantings (e.g., in medians, around interchanges) are included in the US 281 expansion north of 1604?
- David
We are actually not adding any trees along the corridor. Intersections will have colored and textured concrete with what we call our "hill country" aesthetics, which feature earth tones matching the natural landscape. (We actually have a guide for paint schemes that go with highways based on the neighborhood the project is in.)
We would love to incorporate more shrubbery, but then we would be faced with greater maintenance costs. The decision to omit trees in the design is pretty much an economic one.

In reviewing the 281 expansion plans I noticed there will be bike facilities. However, on the schematic I do not see any plans for dedicated bike lanes or bike paths. Will you please provide insight on any future plans for these bike facilities? It would amazing if I could safely ride my bike from Encino park to 1604 or stone oak.
- Brandon
In addition to the typical six-foot sidewalks along the frontage roads, the outside (far right) lane of the frontage roads will be a 14-foot "shared use" lane with a one-foot buffer. While these aren't dedicated bike lanes, these are designed to accommodate multimodal traffic and fit the standard used across the state.