Construction and closures Roads: Wurzbach Parkway
by Brian
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Final section of Wurzbach Parkway officially breaks ground
It’s been 30 years in the making. Today, local officials gathered at Walker Ranch Park to officially break ground on the final section of the Wurzbach Parkway. The segment, from West Ave. to Jones-Maltsberger, is actually already under construction, along with the two adjacent segments. When they’re completed in 2014, the long-awaited east-west thoroughfare will finally be complete.
Speaking at today’s groundbreaking were the Wolffs (Nelson and Kevin), Lyle Larson, local TxDOT district engineer Mario Medina, and TxDOT’s new interim executive director John Barton. Somewhat surprisingly, there was little media coverage of the event; only KABB and KTSA had stories on it.
For more information about the three current projects, see my site here:
Texas Highway Man – Wurzbach Parkway
Speed limits going up
If you have a lead foot, then you’ll love this news.
First, if you hadn’t heard already, the Legislature earlier this year approved– and the governor signed– a bill that would raise the statutory maximum speed limit for state highways to 75 mph (excluding, of course, the existing 80 mph speed limit on some sections of I-10 and I-20 out in West Texas.) Texas now joins all but a handful of states west of the Mississippi with a 75 mph top speed. The limit can only be increased on roads where an engineering study determines that it’s safe to do so, but if past practice holds true, that should be the majority of roads that are currently capped at 70 mph.
Even better, the bill finally eliminates the matrix of speed limits for daytime/nighttime and cars/trucks. All speed limits will now apply to all vehicles at all times. Texas was the only state to still have a different nighttime limit and one of the few with a separate limit for trucks.
The new law takes effect September 1st. A separate effort to increase the maximum speed to 85 mph died.
More recently, the speed limit on the northern arc of Loop 410 has gone up from 60 mph to 65 mph. With the recent completion of construction to widen the freeway to 10 lanes, TxDOT completed a speed study that showed the 85th percentile speed being 65 mph, so in accordance with agency engineering guidelines, TxDOT asked the City of San Antonio to officially increase the speed limit to 65 mph north of US 90. Signs went up this past week.
I also recently noticed that the speed limit along Loop 1604 south of Braun Rd. increased from 55 mph to 60 mph.
Passenger rail: streetcars
by Patrick
Comments Off on San Antonio rail controversy gets ugly
San Antonio rail controversy gets ugly
Arguing about light rail is rich with possibilities.
And it’s so easy to galvanize issues: Do we spend hard-earned taxes on transit or roads? Do we revive downtown cores or unclog asphalt arteries to suburbs? What neighborhoods should get the coveted rails or lanes?
The right strategic mix is the sane solution, but agreeing on the right blend can drive decision-makers batty. To wit, the 2000 light-rail election in which VIA Metropolitan Transit was buried first by critics and then by voters. The 2-to-1 defeat silenced local rail advocates for almost a decade.Â
But now VIA’s latest rail plan – a $180 million project to build a 2.7-mile east-west streetcar line through downtown as well as construct two major transit centers and two suburban bus park-and-rides – seems to be careening around the same pitfalls.Â
Roads: Braun Road Gilbeau Road Loop 1604 Shaenfield Road superstreet
by Brian
Comments Off on First Loop 1604 superstreet intersection opens tomorrow
First Loop 1604 superstreet intersection opens tomorrow
The first of two superstreet intersections on Loop 1604 West is set to open Thursday morning in time for rush hour. Crews have been working this week to pave and complete the other finishing touches. The final work will be done tonight to convert the intersection to its new configuration.
Starting tomorrow morning, traffic coming from New Gilbeau will no longer be able to turn left onto Loop 1604 southbound. Instead, all traffic will turn right with those wishing to go southbound then taking the new turnaround about 1,500 feet downstream. Traffic headed southbound on 1604 will still be able to turn left onto New Gilbeau.
First I-69 signs to go up in Robstown
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has given approval to sign the first segment of Interstate 69 in Texas. The 6-mile section of US 77 stretching from I-37 to Robstown just west of Corpus Christi will likely get the signs later this year. That section of road was upgraded to interstate standards by TxDOT back in 2006 and is part of the larger I-69 corridor plan for Texas. That plan also includes US 59 through East and South Texas and US 281 south of I-37. Lower Rio Grande Valley officials are also hoping to get US 83 through the Valley added to the corridor designation. The Valley is the largest urban area in the US not connected to the Interstate system.
Signing the segments that are at Interstate-standards is an important first step in the overall I-69 project. Besides the public awareness it brings, it also allows the route to receive special federal Interstate maintenance funding and makes obtaining funding to extend it south a bit easier.
Rebirth of a blog
It's all his fault! 🙂
It’s not like there hasn’t been anything to talk about. The 281/1604 interchange started construction earlier this year amid some very interesting legal proceedings. Work also started on the superstreet out on Loop 1604 as well as a variety of other smaller projects. The Legislative session came and went with no progress on transportation funding. And a certain toll road opponent has been in the news a few times lately reminding us that there still needs to be a contrasting narrative.
But the past seven months has been crazy for me. I started the year with a brand new baby boy, my wife’s and my second joy. Daddy-duty has kept me quite busy as did several unusually consuming projects at my day job. On top of that, the general lassitude that comes with now being 40 kicked-in, all of which combined to relegate my longtime enjoyment of all things transportation-related—including writing this blog—to the back burner for a while. But things have slackened lately, meaning that I can hopefully get back to blogging about local transportation issues and updating my website, which had also gone dormant for the first half of this year. I probably won’t be as prolific as I used to be, but I’m aiming not to go seven months between posts!
So if you’re still out there, thanks for sticking with us. I’m in touch with my co-bloggers Patrick and Hugh and hopefully they’ll be back in the mix here soon as well.
Cheers,
–Brian