Several highway construction projects which have been on the drawing board in metro San Antonio for up to a decade are included in the new 'Operation Clear Lanes' $70 billion plan to reduce congestion released late Wednesday by the Texas Transportation Commission, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
One of the key projects on the list has been up for discussion since 2007. TxDOT plans to expand US 281 from four lanes to six lanes, including High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, from Stone Oak all the way to the Comal County line.
That is a $91 million project, the most expensive in Bexar County.
“Mobility not only benefits individual drivers but also the Texas economy as goods and services move safely and efficiently across our state,” said Texas Transportation Commissioner J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., who is leading the Commission focus on reducing congestion. “As our state’s population grows, the 12,000 men and women of TxDOT will continue to collaborate with state and local leaders to find feasible solutions for funding specific projects that TxDOT will execute upon expeditiously to keep people and freight moving throughout our state.”
Another major project will widen I-10 from Loop 410 to Loop 1604 from four to six lanes. That is one of the most immediate projects on the list, with work set to get underway next year.
Also on the TxDOT drawing board is the expansion of Loop 410 from eight lanes to ten lanes, five each way, from Culebra Rd. to 151 on the northwest side, and expanding 410 from six to eight lanes from 151 to Highway 90.
These are separate from the previously announced projects like the expansion of Loop 1604 across the north side, and the widening of I-10 from Loop 1604 to Ralph Fair Rd. on the far northwest side.
All of the TxDOT projects will be done with Proposition One and Proposition Seven money, raised from everything from gas taxes to motor vehicle sales tax and oil and gas tax revenue. Both of those packages, which were approved by the voters in 2014 and 2015, prohibit the use of any of those funds for toll roads, so all of the TxDOT projects will include only free lanes, with some HOV lanes.
The Loop 1604 project, which is being built with federal funding, is not covered by the restrictions of Prop 1 and Prop 7, and will include tolls.
Other TxDOT projects on the to-do list include expanding Loop 1604 to freeway standards from I-35 to FM 78 on the northeast side, and finishing the work on the interchange at 410 and 151 which is currently under construction.
All of the Bexar County projects are set to begin in the coming four years, with the latest set to get underway in 2021.