I-35 Selma nearing completion

The next shoe to drop on the I-35 Selma project is the south-to-north turnaround at FM 1518, which could open up as early as April 18. Crews are working on curbs and sidewalks now, with asphalt scheduled to arrive next week. With asphalt and striping in place, the turnaround should be ready to open up.

Concrete crews are busily getting the south-to-north turnaround at FM 1518 ready for use.

The turnaround at FM 3009 has a bit more left to do before it's ready to open; the concrete islands at the intersection are finished now, but some repairs are needed and the concrete pads surrounding the structure need finished. A full crew has been dedicated to the work for the last several weeks, and project bosses hope to have the turnaround open by early May.

A full crew has been dedicated to the remaining turnaround at FM 3009 for the last several weeks. This crew will continue to work on the structure, and hope to have it opened by mid-May.

The lingering major tasks, then, are at the northbound exit to Olympia Parkway (while one lane is active and open, widening work remains), some concrete median barrier (an issue with steel reinforcement bars have delayed that work a few weeks) and the final layer of asphalt on all main lanes between the Cibolo Creek bridge and Loop 1604.

The right lane of the northbound Olympia Parkway exit ramp is open; work continues on the left exit lane. When this work is done, we'll have two lanes exiting to Olympia Parkway.

Project managers with Dan Williams Co. are still hopeful to have the whole project finished and done around the end of the school year.

I-10 Huebner

The rain storms yesterday muddied up the work zone pretty good, but Webber has pumps hard at work to dry things out.

It's been more than a month since the last complete update on this project. The contractor is still working hard on retaining walls, actually. Setting the wall panels in several locations (before they had been fussing with the anchor structures, such as soil nail walls). Texas Highway Walls, the subcontractor working with these wall panels, is scheduled for all sorts of work along the corridor of the project.

The retaining wall on the eastbound side of I-10 at UTSA Blvd is mostly done. Other retaining walls along the stretch of the project are progressing well.

Soil nails are still to be put in for a wall on the westbound side of I-10 near UTSA Blvd.

One of the few areas where the retaining wall work is still in early stages, on the westbound side of I-10 near UTSA Blvd.

Electricians on the project are working daily to keep the highway lights on and burning, which has been a challenge on this project with the variety of circuits present.

Project supervisors are stressing anew the importance of keeping the project as clean as can be. This isn't a matter of keeping the mud out, but eliminating clutter and stockpiles when they are not necessary. It also includes litter pick-up; which brings us to a brief item of importance.

On our active construction projects, contractors are responsible for keeping litter picked up. But that doesn't mean they are responsible for the cleanliness of the roadway. That responsibility lies squarely with the drivers. Don't mess with Texas. 

That's more than a cute catchphrase; it's actually a trademarked phrase to remind Texans to find a trash can rather than toss trash out of the window. Nuff said?

Anyway, Webber has crews working day and night; to be honest, they'd love to have closures during the daytime hours to get more work done each day. That's not happening at this point - except occasional frontage road closures - but daytime drivers should know its a possibility in the future.

Most of this work, as stated above, is the retaining wall work. This also includes some actual widening of the main lanes, particularly between UTSA Blvd and DeZavala Road.

The big daddy of this job is the upcoming milestone to rebuild the overpass bridge at DeZavala Road. That work will take about a full year to complete, in addition to the work done across the remainder of the project. Traffic will be shifted into narrower lanes, and the total number of lanes will be reduced; currently each direction features three lanes plus an auxiliary lane (total of four lanes in each direction). For the year-long traffic switch to rebuild the bridge, the auxiliary lanes will be eliminated (making three total lanes each direction). The lanes will be narrowed to about 11 feet (from the normal 12 feet) wide.

When Webber gets into the milestones for the DeZavala overpass, the auxiliary lanes - like this one, serving traffic as it enters and exits the main lanes - will be dropped for about a year. They will be returned when the work is complete.

Again, all lanes will be shifted over, leaving one entire half of the overpass clear for work. Webber will work on the eastbound side first, shifting all lanes of traffic onto the current westbound side. Traffic will be separated by portable traffic barriers.

We fully expect delays through this already busy corridor during these milestones. That's why we've attached incentives and disincentives for the work, allowing just six months for each half of the overpass.

This will begin within a few weeks; Webber is targeting late April to get this milestone started. Again, it will last a total of about a year.

Wurzbach Parkway progress

Blanco to West Avenue

If you've driven through in the last week or so, you'll notice ... WE ARE DONE!!!

Well, substantially. We've still got some minor stuff going, and that may require some minor closures as needed.  Most of it is for aesthetic stuff; painting. Patching and rubbing concrete, that sort of thing.

Over the upcoming weeks, you may see trucks, like this TxDOT truck, and workers performing small tasks on the western segment ... but we are pretty much finished.

Besides that, we're done with the western segment, for all intents and purposes. Enjoy the roadway - including the Blanco Road overpass - and drive safe!

West Avenue to Jones-Maltsberger

Electricians are working on lighting at West Avenue while bridge crews are hard at work near Jones-Maltsberger. Well out of view, concrete crews are building a hike and bike trail under U.S. Highway 281.

Crews continue to work on stuff under U.S. 281; the beams going over the highway, though, won't be ready until later this summer.

But the bulk of the work on the center segment of the parkway is actually along U.S. 281. This includes work on the future northbound exit ramps to Wurzbach Parkway and to Bitters Road - that's two separate exit ramps, there. Underground utilities crews are working on what we call "lateral boxes" - drain boxes moving across the roadway - at both locations. Once the box is built under the future Wurzbach exit, which is easily seen under Nakoma Drive, that exit ramp will be finished up for regular use.

That will mean the current Bitters Road exit will be shut down.

The new exit to Bitters Road will be a braided exit, bridging the exit ramp over an entrance ramp funneling traffic from Nakoma and Wurzbach onto the northbound main lanes of Hwy 281. Drivers can see the bridge support pillars for the exit ramp already formed and built; the entrance ramp will run between the two sets of pillars.

The work being done is generally out of the way of the traveling lanes, so we don't anticipate closures for the foreseeable future. However, later this summer when we're ready to set beams over U.S. 281, we'll need to have closures in plenty. Those closures will be announced well in advance.

Overall, the center segment is on pace to finish mid-2015.

Jones-Maltsberger to Wetmore

Work is progressing at Jones-Maltsberger, with electricians scheduled to build the traffic signal poles at the new intersection later this week. The mast arms (with actual signals) will come later.

Work at this intersection is interesting; both contractors - Williams Brothers and Texas Sterling Construction - have major responsibilities. The structures on Jones-Maltsberger are the job of TSC, and WB is handling the entrance or exit ramps on the west side of Jones-Maltsberger as well as the overpass. TSC is pushing hard to finish work along the southbound side to be able to move on to work in the center of the road. WB's work on the southbound curbs and sidewalks should follow quickly behind.

The goal is to have the road open and fully operable by summer.

Meanwhile, with work building up the road structure across Old Bitters Road progressing well, Texas Sterling is getting ready to build the future driveways for the city's brush site. Traffic to the brush site will continue to use Old Bitters Road to reach the site, though, until the project is complete.

Crews work on a retaining wall forming the base of the parkway as it crosses through Old Bitters Road. Old Bitters now dead-ends at the parkway.

The Mud Creek bridge deck is scheduled to be poured later this month. The bridge deck for the west-bound lanes is the critical structure to have finished in order to open up traffic on the parkway to its full configuration between Wetmore and Starcrest. It's also the biggest obstacle to finishing the hike and bike trail connector for the Salado Creek Greenway. After the bridge deck and the bridge barriers are in place, work on the trail connecter will move forward. Once that connector is built - effectively connecting McAllister Park permanently to the rest of Salado Creek Greenway - the city's temporary signal and crosswalk near Buckhorn Drive can be removed.

Curbs forming a raised island for the entrance and exit to McAllister Park have already been built. When the parkway is finished, traffic will only be able to perform a right-in, right-out movement when going to or coming from the park.

Expect that trail shift to happen in June, if the project continues as planned. The overall completion for this segment is on pace for fall 2014 (later this year).

Main Street bridge in Boerne closed overnight this week

Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Relmco Construction will close the Main Street bridge over Cibolo Creek in Boerne so crews can place a final layer of asphalt on the bridge. This paving work will be followed with painters to mark the new lines on the roadway.

The work marks what should be the end of a project to widen the bridge that began January 2013.

The bridge closure will be complete, requiring traffic to use River Road, Esser Road and East Blanco Road as a detour. Local residents may recognize the detour as the same route used when Main Street closes for parades.

Each night, the closure will begin at 9 p.m. and crews will open the bridge in time for the morning commute.

This week's construction-related closures

Interstate 10

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Main lanes, both directions, between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit ramps to Fredericksburg Road, Woodstone Drive and DeZavala Road, as well as the entrance ramps from DeZavala Road and UTSA Boulevard. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Eastbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the entrance ramp from and the exit ramp to DeZavala Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit ramp to Woodstone Drive Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Eastbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the entrance ramp from and the exit ramp to DeZavala Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-27

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Westbound frontage road between Huebner Road and Loop 1604 (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews move barrier. This closure includes the occasional closure of the exit ramp to Woodstone Drive Road. Traffic will use the next available ramp. Expect delays.

Monday-Thursday, March 31-April 10

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Main lanes, both directions, between Pine Street and Roland Street (east San Antonio)

Alternating lanes will close while crews place concrete traffic barriers. This is associated with the resumption of the active project on I-10 in east San Antonio. Expect delays.

Interstate 35

Sunday-Monday, April 6-7

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.

Southbound frontage road at Forum Parkway (Selma)

The left lane will close while crews repair the pavement base.

Sunday-Tuesday, April 6-8

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Southbound main lanes between Olympia Parkway and Loop 1604 (Selma)

The two right lanes will close while crews repair pavement base. This closure includes the southbound exit ramp to Loop 1604 (exit 172). Traffic will follow the posted detour.

Monday-Tuesday, April 7-8

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.

Northbound main lanes between Loop 1604 and Evans Road (Selma)

The two left lanes will close while crews install overhead sign bridges. Expect delays.

Monday-Tuesday, April 7-8

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.

Southbound main lanes between Loop 1604 and Evans Road (Selma)

The two right lanes will close while crews install overhead sign bridges. Expect delays.

Monday-Wednesday, April 7-9

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Northbound main lanes between George Beach and Rittiman Road (northeast San Antonio)

The two left lanes will close while crews build permanent concrete barrier. Expect delays.

Tuesday-Wednesday, April 8-9

9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily

Southbound frontage road between St. Marys and McLane (downtown)

The left lane will close while crews replace bird guards. Expect delays.

Tuesday-Thursday, April 8-10

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Northbound frontage road between Forum Parkway and Olympia Parkway (Selma)

Alternating lanes will close while crews surface the roadway. Expect delays.

Tuesday-Friday, April 8-11

9 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly

Main lanes, both directions, between Solms Road and FM 3009 (Selma-Schertz)

Alternating lanes will close in both directions while crews repair the asphalt base. Expect delays.

Wednesday-Thursday, April 9-10

9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

Main lanes, both directions, between Fairdale and Eisenhauer (northeast San Antonio)

The two left lanes will close while crews remove a sign. Expect delays.

Interstate 37

Sunday-Monday, April 6-7

9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

Northbound main lanes between Fair Avenue and I-35 (downtown)

The left lanes will close while crews seal cracks in the asphalt.

Interstate 410

Friday-Monday, April 4-7

9 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Main lanes, both directions, between Perrin Beitel and Randolph Boulevard (northeast San Antonio)

The left lane will close while crews install fiber communication lines. Expect delays.

Loop 1604

Sunday-Sunday, April 6-13

9 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily

Main lanes and frontage roads between Bandera Road and Culebra Road (northwest San Antonio)

Alternating lanes, including shoulders, while crews survey the area.

U.S. Highway 90

No closures planned.

U.S. Highway 281

No closures planned.

Other roads

Sunday-Saturday, April 6-12

10 p.m. until 5 a.m. nightly

Fredericksburg Road, both directions, between Louis Pasteur and Data Point (medical center)

Alternating lanes will close while crews drill support structures under the roadway. Be aware this work will require steel plates on the roadway when work is not being done. Use caution.

Tuesday-Thursday, April 8-10

9 p.m. until 6 a.m. nightly

U.S. Hwy 87 (Main Street) at Cibolo Creek (Boerne)

The Cibolo Creek bridge in downtown Boerne will close while crews pave the road. Traffic will use River Road, Esser Road and East Blanco Road to reach its destination. Expect delays.

All planned lane closures are pending weather.