Friday, June 9

US 281 project start date

The $192 million project to expand US 281 to a six-lane expressway with frontage roads between Lp 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway will begin on July 17.

What we are doing
The finished product will have three express lanes in each direction, one of those lanes being reserved for transit and carpool vehicles. Frontage roads will match the existing road today with two or three lanes each way.

We are also finishing the interchange at Lp 1604 with the four remaining direct connectors north of Lp 1604. A direct ramp to and from a new VIA facility at Stone Oak Parkway is included. 
Webber Construction won the contract in February. They have about three and a half years to finish the work. We expect to wrap up work the first half of 2021. 

What to expect
Our ultimate goal is to maintain the current level of service to drivers during construction. That means keeping the same number of lanes operating that are available today and keeping the traffic signals optimized for through traffic flow. Yes, we'll be keeping the superstreet going through the duration of work. Signal timing is done by the city of San Antonio, and we will maintain careful contact with their staff to ensure things work properly all the way.
Lane closures for planned work activities are limited to overnight hours (9 p.m. until 5 a.m.) Monday until Thursday. We will have no overnight closures on Friday nights.
We will have occasional weekend-long closures for major work items 3 a.m. Saturdays until 5 a.m. Mondays. During these weekend closures we will keep one lane open in both directions on the main lanes of US 281. It'll be rough getting through, but it will be passable.
All closures will be posted in our weekly closures alert, and major closures will be announced on this blog as needed. 

What will be built first
After barricades and construction signs are set (that will take a couple of weeks) crews will start working on what will become the northbound frontage road beginning around Loop 1604. Minor overnight closures will be used to get the work zone set up and the first phase of work underway.