AASHTO Journal, 10 January 2014
Texas Department of Transportation officials joined community leaders in San Antonio this week to announce $800 million to fund transportation projects that will cut congestion for area drivers and help the San Antonio area prepare for future population growth.
TxDOT, along with the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, VIA Metropolitan Transit, City of San Antonio, and Bexar County, identified various projects that will expand the area’s transportation infrastructure network. The projects, TxDOT said, include elements such as both non-tolled and managed lanes, connectors, and existing lane improvements. TxDOT will focus those elements on: I-10, where it will add two managed lanes in each direction north of Loop 1604 and tolled connector ramps at the Loop 1604 interchange; US 281, where it will expand to a four-lane, non-tolled expressway from Loop 1604 north to Stone Oak Boulevard with two managed lanes and non-tolled connector ramps at the Loop 1604 interchange and then expanding from Stone Oak Boulevard to the Bexar/Comal county line to a four-lane tolled expressway with frontage roads; and Loop 1604, which will expand to a four-lane, non-tolled expressway from SH 151 to US 90.
Officials say these roadway improvements are necessary to keep pace with the are’s population boom, especially as San Antonio drivers currently waste more than 40 million hours annually sitting in traffic on some of the area’s roadways, according to TxDOT.
“As the seventh largest city in the United States, San Antonio continues to grow at a pace that is expected to see its population number more than 3 million people by 2040,” said Texas Transportation Commission Chair Ted Houghton in a statement. “The collaborative infrastructure projects we’re announcing will help relieve congestion and keep San Antonio drivers and the region’s economy moving in a way that improves business, enhances the quality of life, and decreases the number of hours lost sitting in traffic. We’re pleased to partner with these regional leaders as they continue to create a quality of life in this region that makes it such a desirable place to call home and do business.”
TxDOT officials say construction on the projects will begin by early 2015.