Several phases of $1.4B Loop 1604 project more than halfway done

Loop 1604 on the Northside of San Antonio is shaping up to look a whole lot different. While much of the $1.4 billion, 23-mile project will be completed in phases through 2028, crews are making steadfast progress, completing tasks ahead of or right on schedule.

As sections of the major Texas highway are reworked over the next four years, Loop 1604 will go from an overcrowded four-lane highway with a four-leaf clover interchange to a massive, 10-lane highway with a interchange chalk full of stacked, direct connector lanes. All those improvements take a lot of work, and a lot of road closures — which is unsurprising at this point to those who regularly travel Loop 1604. 

However, Texas Department of Transportation officials say quick progress is being made.

“Good progress is being made on the Loop 1604 North Expansion,” the TxDOT San Antonio office tweeted Tuesday, March 12. “Overnight, crews used over 30 trucks of concrete to complete a deck pour near Lockhill Selma and I-10. It’s all part of the plan to reduce congestion along the corridor.”

It’s all supposed to reduce congestion by 76% along what TxDOT spokesperson Jennifer Serold told MySA is one of the most congested corridors in Texas. And that congestion is expected to ramp up as TxDOT officials say the number of drivers along Loop 1604 is expected to double over the next 20 to 25 years.

The first phase of the project — the stretch of Loop 1604 from Bandera Road to I-10 — was roughly 70% complete at the start of 2024, and Serold said it’s slated for completion at the end of this year or early next year. That section of highway that was originally slated for a 2025 completion.

Now, the phase that’s really been causing some highway headaches is the interchange between Loop 1604 and I-10. This has been the cause of complete weekend closures, pushing traffic onto the frontage roads and backing up traffic for miles. While that phase isn’t slated for completion until 2027, drivers will benefit from the construction later this year.

“We’re constructing a five-level innovative interchange with flyover ramps and bridges that connect people on and off 1604 onto I-10,” Serold told MySA earlier this year. “Right now, that segment is about 42% complete so we’re almost at the halfway mark. That’s why you’re going to start seeing all this construction ramp up. The workers are going to be placing the steel beams, to get those ramps constructed, and the first ramp is going to be open later this year.”

It’s not just the interchange that’s seeing a lot of action at the moment, as serious work has been underway on the third phase of the project that spans from I-10 to U.S. 281. That phase is slated for a 2025 completion, and it was more than halfway done at the start of 2024, Serold said.

Alas, there are several road closures this week impacting drivers on this stretch of Loop 1604. Every night from Sunday, March 10, until Wednesday, March 13, the westbound lanes from Northwest Military Highway exit ramp to the intersection with I-10 will be closed.

The intersection between Northwest Military and 1604 will be closed for rail demolition and deck breakback, according to a TxDOT announcement. The closures are running from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

What’s more, the eastbound lanes of Loop 1604 from Bitters Road to Trailcrest Street, well past Stone Oak Parkway, will be completely closed to traffic until Saturday, March 16, every night from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m.