I-10 San Antonio bridge construction halts traffic, scrapes car bottoms

A bit of roadwork is causing some major shakeups near downtown San Antonio as crews work overnight to get bridge joints up to date. However, the temporary solutions allowing drivers to traverse the upper level of I-10 during the day, while crews hammer away at night, is leaving some Reddit users dissatisfied.

According to Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson Tanya Brown, crews are working overnight to replace bridge joints in the westbound lanes on the upper level of I-10 between Walsh Street and Hildebrand Road. Apparently, the current bridge joints aren’t up to standards, requiring frequent maintenance.

“Replacing them with new joints that meet current standards will reduce maintenance and extend the life of the bridges,” Brown told MySA. “A steel plate will be placed over the existing joints during replacement to allow traffic to utilize the main lanes until the contractor can remove and replace the existing joints and deck concrete.”

“Just after the split between the upper and lower level [of I-10] heading north, there’s a massive bump that will absolutely f*** anyone driving a lowered car or with low profile tires and maybe even normal cars too,” one Reddit user wrote, sparking a series of comments over the large surface level change. “I think it’s where the expansion joint should be. Some kind of steel plate with big protruding bolts that also look dangerous. Kind of shocked that it’s there but also not because San Antonio.”

Another user said he drives for Uber and has learned to essentially drive with caution anywhere in the Alamo City, noting they keep their eyes peeled nearly constantly to scan the roads in unfamiliar parts of town. Apparently, driving conditions were much better in Austin and Portland, Oregon.

“As of this morning, they put ‘BUMP’ signs on both ends of that section,” another Reddit user commented Monday, February 5. “All cars are going 20 mph over that are.”

Indeed, cars are slowing to a near crawl when traveling over the steel plates covering the bridge joints, causing significant traffic congestion on the upper level of I-10 which backs up to the intersection with I-35. One Reddit user noted they were almost in a wreck when the driver in front of them “freaked,” slammed on their breaks, and swerved to avoid a harsh impact with the raised plates and bolts.

“Advance warning signs will be placed in areas affected to notify the traveling public of the slight change in surface elevation,” Brown said. “We asked that motorists reduce their speed when traveling in the work zone area until the joints have been replaced.”

And brace yourselves, San Antonio, this isn’t the last stop on the bridge joint replacement train. Brown says the joints on the upper level of I-35 between Laredo and Camden streets are next on the list.