The bad news: The entrance
ramp to I-35 northbound after Business 35 (near South Kowald Lane) in New Braunfels is closing.
The good
news: It’s only for a couple of months.
If only it
were that simple.
The I-35 northbound
entrance ramp – located directly after North Business 35 (in
front of the Evergreen RV Center) – will be closed for approximately two months, starting at
9 a.m. this Monday, Oct. 7.
This ramp closure is necessary while crews (here’s
the “wish it were that simple” part) replace the entrance ramp with an exit
ramp.
That’s
right, we are reversing the ramp at
that location. It is part of a series of operational and safety improvement projects taking place on I-35 in Comal County.
Before we talk more about the big picture, drivers should know that
during this two-month ramp closure they should use the next entrance ramp located right up the road just south of FM 306/Creekside Crossing (the Buc-ee’s intersection), as illustrated in the
map below.
The ramp closure
is expected to end in early December -- that's also when the new exit ramp is scheduled to open.
So, back to the big picture for inquiring minds: This ramp closure and ramp reversal is part of a larger project that
started a couple of weeks ago and which has an estimated completion date of March 2021.
The overall purpose of this project involves rehab of I-35 mainlanes between the Guadalupe
River and FM 306, relocation and
reversal of ramps and improvements to the I-35 & FM 306 intersection (with construction of a partial Displaced Left Turn or DLT) configuration.
We just recently opened up the first (full) DLT in the San Antonio District at Loop 1604 and SH 16 (Bandera Road) in Northwest San Antonio/Helotes. The unique set-up confused first-time drivers but since then the community has really taken to it and in just a few months we've already seen a drastic reduction in congestion at that extremely busy intersection.
Beyond those major facts about this improvement project, there is a significant milestone to keep in mind -- the reconstruction of the I-35 northbound-to-southbound turnaround at FM 306 tentatively scheduled for September 2020. Though it's still too soon to tell, project managers expect the turnaround to be closed for up to one month.
You may be asking yourself -- why replace that entrace ramp in front of the Evergreen RV Center? Why engage in these other ramp reversals as well?
Glad you asked. Main reason: Safety. Right now, the level of congestion and crashes on the I-35 northbound frontage road at FM 306 is high.
Reversal of the ramp in front of
the RV center is the precursor for changes coming to the I-35 & FM 306 intersection described above, with the new DLT configuration expected to both enhance safety and reduce congestion at this intersection that New Braunfels folks have known for quite some time to be really busy.
Ultimately, all
these changes will result in traffic being able to exit from I-35 northbound further
away from the intersection, which will allow drivers more time and distance to weave
and change lanes before getting to the intersection.
As always, thanks for your patience and understanding as we know you'll be inconvenienced as construction ramps up on this project.