Road trip to Midland and Odessa, Texas
Polikarpov I-16 at the CAF museum, Midland, Texas
Rolling forward on my 2010 resolution to get out of San Antonio more, I took a three day trip to Midland and Odessa, two cities, indeed a region of Texas, I had not visited before in the nineteen years I have called the Lone State home. I set out on the last Thursday in July, which proved to be a very good time to go. more »
Roads: Bandera Road City of San Antonio intersection Texas Department of Transportation
by Brian
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Relief coming for Eckhert at Bandera!
For commuters from the Medical Center to Bandera Rd., one of the worse bottlenecks is the intersection of Eckhert at Bandera. While there are dual left turn lanes for traffic headed toward the Medical Center from southbound Bandera, there is only a single right turn lane for traffic coming from the Medical Center to northbound Bandera. This means that during the afternoon rush hour, that right turn lane backs-up considerably, sometimes all the way to Marshall High School, which itself also contributes to the problems when school’s in session. To get around that, drivers cut through on neighboring streets, especially Woodchase, and some cut through the Carl’s Jr./Dickey’s parking lot. A few bold drivers even make illegal right turns from the center lane, which is marked as straight or left turn only. And I’m sure many drivers just avoid the area entirely.
To finally provide some relief, TxDOT and the City of San Antonio are working to install dual right turn lanes. Some initial prep work to fix the corner curb and bring the curb cut to ADA compliance was completed a few weeks ago, and the “pork-chop” island that separates the right turn bay from the through lanes was removed earlier this week. The City now has some traffic signal work to complete and then the restriping will be done. There’s no official completion date as of now, but I would guess that it would be done by the time school starts-up again later this month or shortly thereafter.
Roads: Braun Road intersection Loop 1604 superstreet Texas Department of Transportation widening
by Brian
1 comment
Loop 1604/Braun update
Future new westbound lane
A couple of weeks ago, TxDOT completed the restriping of Loop 1604 to three lanes in each direction at Braun Rd. This seemingly minor change has had a fairly dramatic effect on traffic. From my own observations, typical peak period traffic jams in both directions have been significantly reduced. For instance, southbound traffic used to back-up nearly to Bandera Road during the evening rush hour, a distance of a mile or so. But now it typically backs-up only half of that distance or even less. I’ll be interested to see how it looks when school gets back into session, but for now, the improvement seems to have eased things quite a bit. If you drive through this area regularly, post a comment and let me know your observations.
TxDOT is also planning at least one other improvement at that intersection, that being an additional lane on westbound Braun. more »
Wanna fly in a C-47?
I had arranged to take a 30 minute flight on the “Bluebonnet Belle,” a Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain airplane this Saturdayy, August 7, at 11:00 AM. The aircraft, built in 1944, flies as part of the Highland Lakes Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force, which is based right on HWY 281 in Burnet, Texas. There are two remaining seats available out of a total of seven on the plane the way it is currently configured. Frankly, I am staggered that out of all the transportation enthusiasts I know I can only find five people but I guess everyone needs to be surprised once in a while. more »
Commuting Parking Passenger rail Railroads Transit Travel
by Hugh
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Passenger rail in Asutin and San Antonio
Larry Walsh and the Austin MetroRail
My friend, Larry Walsh, and I finally found the time last Tuesday, July 27, to make a visit to Austin’s new commuter rail line, Capital MetroRail. This is what is hoped to be the first thirty miles of a city wide system. This first section runs from the city center at 4th and Trinity to Leander, a commuter colony way to the north of Austin itself. more »
Construction and closures: Loop 410 Perrin Beitel
by Patrick
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This weekend’s trouble spot
Workers have probably finished closing down westbound Loop 410 at Perrin Beitel by now so they can restripe the highway.
Crews will work through the night and into Saturday morning, likely interrupting the busy flow of weekend shoppers and travelers. Workers should finish by noon.
The $119 million project to widen this part of Loop 410 is the largest construction job in San Antonio, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Work is slightly ahead of schedule and is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
“We don’t have far to go,” TxDOT engineer Randy Grones assured. “The completion date is right around the corner.”
To check the latest San Antonio traffic:
Del Rio, Uvalde, Crystal City and Carrizo Springs
Circumstances, I am happy to say, are obliging me to enlarge my somewhat parochial transportation history research endeavors. Until recently, the furthest I had researched in depth along the old Southern Pacific railroad heading west was Uvalde. I have taken AMTRAK as far as Alpine before and made a couple of trips to Del Rio when I worked for the Union Pacific, but such visits did not involve peeling beneath the surface in any appreciable way. more »
So long Maggie!
Maggie and yours truly at her retirement shindig
You’ve probably seen Maggie Rios on the local news talking about road construction, lane closures, and the like, but you won’t see her on TV anymore– at least not as a TxDOT spokesperson. That’s because after 30 years of toiling at the state’s highway agency, Maggie has decided it’s time to give up the limelight and retire. Now she’s off to do what most pensioners look forward to doing: spending ample time with her grandkids and husband and just plain relaxing.
I’ve known Maggie for almost two decades now, going back to when she was an assistant to David Otwell, the agency’s local public information officer back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. She is a wonderfully kind person and a consummate professional who always strove to be the best liaison and ombudsman possible between TxDOT’s San Antonio district office and John Q. Citizen, an often challenging proposition. She has provided immeasurable assistance to me over the years in the form of numerous documents, answers to countless questions, and the fielding of a number of complaints and suggestions (yes, even I complain to TxDOT once and a while). Along the way, she has become a good friend.
As such, it was an honor and privilege for me to be able to attend her retirement ceremony a few weeks ago, during which she received a proclamation from the Legislature thanking her for her many years of service, as well as a flag that had been flown over the state capitol in her honor. Additionally, she received a nice plaque from TxDOT and a wonderful gift from her co-workers. It was obvious that she will be greatly missed.
Enjoy your retirement Maggie!
Road trip coming up!
It’s been a long, long week.
And I can’t think of a better way to wrap it up than with a road trip west to see my favorite twins. This weekend will be especially fun because they’re celebrating their sixth birthday. It’s a pool party!
Check out the video I put together from their fifth birthday party.
Well, gotta pack.
Travel: Fourth of July holiday July 4
by Patrick
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Americans change their minds about holiday travel
Live weather feed for San Antonio from the National Weather Service.
There’s plenty for would-be travelers to worry about.
A hole in the Gulf floor spews thousands of barrels a day of sticky oil. A European debt crisis shook up financial markets. Storms will soak much of Texas through the Fourth of July weekend.
But as I sit on my porch sipping coffee, watching my lawn drink in what Hurricane Alex’s remnants have left to dump, 34.9 million Americans will be on vacation trips, a whopping 17 percent more than last year, AAA says. Nine out of 10 will go by car.
And why not? Most Gulf beaches remain clean and open. A U.S. economic recovery seems to be holding steady. Most Texas roads, though wet, are open.
Also, gas prices are under $3 a gallon.
So though travelers will spend a little less — on average, $50 less — than last year, the holiday looks much brighter than a year ago.
Sources and links:
- Weather
- Statewide road conditions, or call (800) 452-9292
- Gas prices
- AAA report