Entire lanes of major San Antonio highway to be shut down

The impacts of the $1.4 billion revamp of Loop 1604 spanning miles across the Northside is about get super real, San Antonio. While the Texas Department of Transportation works to overhaul the iconic four-leaf-clover interchange between 1604 and I-10, there’s going to be some major shakeups at the intersection this weekend.

While there’s certainly been some inconvenient road closures across town due to all the highway construction underway, Friday, January 12, marks one of the most significant closures since TxDOT started remodeling Loop 1604, expanding the major thoroughfare into a 10-lane highway and creating an overwhelming series of flyover lanes connecting the two major highways.

Starting Friday, January 11, at 9 p.m., and ending at 5 a.m. Monday, January 15, major sections of I-10 and Loop 1604 in every direction will be shuttered for the entire weekend. For context, eastbound and westbound lanes of Loop 1604 from La Cantera Parkway to Vance Jackson Road will be completely shut down, and all eastbound and westbound lanes on I-10 from La Cantera Parkway to UTSA Boulevard will be closed to traffic. These closures are so significant, TxDOT says you should probably just avoid the area if possible.

So, what does this actually mean for drivers hoping to navigate these sections of major highway? Well, drivers will be forced off the highway and onto frontage roads and forced to take turnarounds to continue on either major highway. Those looking to head west on Loop 1604 will be forced to exit near Vance Jackson Road, take the access road up to La Canter Parkway, turn around, and head down the I-10 access road until they hit Loop 1604 again. A similar situation will be implemented for those heading east on 1604: Drivers will be forced to exit near La Cantera Parkway, head down the I-10 frontage Road to the UTSA Boulevard turn around, and follow the northbound frontage road back to Loop 1604.

The situation for those driving along I-10 isn’t much better. Those heading north on I-10 – in the westbound lanes as TxDOT labeled them – will be pushed off the highway at UTSA Boulevard and will be forced to use the access roads past Loop 1604. The same is warranted in reverse: drivers heading south in the eastbound lanes of I-10 will be pushed off the interstate at La Cantera Parkway and kept on the frontage roads until UTSA Boulevard.

It’s a doozy, we get it. But TxDOT officials say all these traffic woes amid fast-paced construction are part of a bigger plan which is slated to reduce traffic congestion by nearly 80 percent. This is clearly a necessary improvement for an intersection TxDOT has deemed one of the most congested in the state.

“It’s one of the most congested corridors in the state,” TxDOT Public Information Officer Jennifer Serold previously told MySA. “Over the next 20 to 25 years, the amount of daily drivers is expected to double. So, this expansion project is to prepare for future growth but also to give benefits to drivers in the next few years … It’s bringing a lot of congestion relief to drivers by giving them more lanes to travel on. And then, of course, when you reduce congestion, you increase safety for the drivers.”