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.