Important milestone for those seeking traffic relief on the US 281 Expansion Project!
Those of you that frequent this major highway likely know that both northbound Sonterra Boulevard exit ramp as well as southbound Sonterra Boulevard entrance ramp have been closed for the long term.
That measure needed to be put in place to safely put in place beams for the new direct connectors (flyovers) connecting US 281 with Loop 1604.
In the case of the Sonterra southbound entrance ramp, it had been closed for construction of the new direct connectors going from US 281 southbound to Loop 1604 eastbound and westbound.
We're now happy to announce that the Sonterra southbound entrance ramp is scheduled to reopen tomorrow (Wednesday, September 4)!
Why did we need to have it closed in the first place, you ask? Well, that was to allow work crews to work safely behind barrier while constructing retaining wall, drainage crossings and direct connector structures beside and over the ramp (we would never want to risk objects falling from up above onto moving cars below) as well as reconstruction and realignment of the ramp itself.
So that's happening. But what about the Sonterra northbound exit ramp, you're wondering? That remains closed at this time (Frontage Road exit continues being your best alternative) but our contractor anticipates that it will reopen toward the end of this year.
While we're at it, a quick reminder that there's one more traffic switch associated with this Phase I (between Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway) of the US 281 Expansion Project. There's one in place in both southern and northern ends of the project.
The last one will take place in the middle, at Evans Road. As with the previous switches, this will also involve diverting traffic off the existing mainlanes and onto the newly-built frontage roads (in both directions. There's no date set yet for this last switch but it should come in the next two to three months.
Meantime, besides keeping it here on our blog or on our very active Twitter platform, don't forget that you can also sign up for e-mail updates on this project including scheduled closures so you can plan ahead. Here's the link to sign up: http://eepurl.com/cXz2kr).
As always, please recall that any scheduled work is always weather permitting and subject to change.