On the Move

Loop 410 is done!

Ribbon-cutting for Loop 410 expansion

For the past 30 years, San Antonians have complained about construction along Loop 410.  But no more.  As Mayor Julian Castro said during today’s Loop 410 ribbon-cutting ceremony, “the headaches are over!”

The last leg of the nearly $1 billion “410 for SA” project to improve Loop 410 across the northside of San Antonio is just about done with just a few final “punch list” items remaining, so TxDOT and other local officials– including the Mayor, County Judge Nelson Wolff, VIA boss Keith Parker, and city councilman John Clamp– took the opportunity today to celebrate the culmination of 30 years of work that widened Loop 410 from six to 10 lanes from Perrin-Beitel to Culebra and built new interchanges at US 281, San Pedro, I-10, and Bandera Rd.  All of these improvements have helped get Loop 410 “ahead of the curve” with regards to traffic and has significantly cut congestion and delays throughout the corridor.  And the completion comes just in time: 2009 traffic counts show that Loop 410 has regained its position as the busiest highway in San Antonio with an average of 215,000 vehicles per day between I-10 and US 281.

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Good and bad news for Potranco

If your commute involves Potranco Rd. (FM 1957) outside Loop 1604, then I have the proverbial good news and bad news for you.  The good news is that the Texas Transportation Commission approved a pass-through financing agreement with Bexar County last week that will allow the county to fund and manage the widening of Potranco from two to four lanes between Loop 1604 and SH 211 in far western Bexar County.  This agreement will allow the expansion work to get done much, much sooner than if it had to wait its turn for “traditional” (read: gas tax) funding, which is growing more scarce every year.  After the project is completed, TxDOT will reimburse the county for about 65% of the costs on a prorated basis over several years.  The Potranco widening is lumped-in with another much-needed project: the completion (finally) of SH 211.  I hear that developers in the area are picking-up the remainder of the tab on the two projects.

The bad news?  It looks like work won’t start for about two years as Bexar County finalizes the plans for the two projects.  So relief is still a few years away, but at least the ball has started rolling.

Loop 410 closed Saturday

Workers will close eastbound Loop 410 on the Northeast Side this Saturday so they can set bridge beams.

Crews will divert motorists to a frontage road from 2 a.m. to as late as 6 p.m., according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Traffic will probably start backing up on the freeway’s main lanes shortly after sunrise. 

To skip the mess, drivers can use Wurzbach Parkway or Austin Highway. Or, like I’ll do from the Northwest Side, you can swing wide to Loop 1604.

Click the map to find routes.

Check TransGuide for current highway conditions.