Flow of traffic will ramp up soon

Construction continues on the ramp connecting northbound U.S. 281 to westbound Loop 1604 on Wednesday Sept. 12, 2012. Construction continues on the ramp connecting northbound U.S. 281 to westbound Loop 1604 on Wednesday Sept. 12, 2012. Photo: Helen L. Montoya, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Helen L. Montoya, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Flow of traffic will ramp up soon 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Traffic on U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 is about to get a boost, more than 100 feet in the air, thanks to a massive interchange project that's to partly open next month.

The connector between U.S. 281 north and Loop 1604 west could be completed by Oct. 11, the first section of the interchange to open.

About 13,000 motorists per day are expected to use that connector alone.

The second connector, from U.S. 281 north to Loop 1604 east, could open in another two months.

The two remaining connectors, linking east and west traffic on Loop 1604 to U.S. 281 south, should be ready by early February.

When completed, the interchange at its highest point — 120 feet above the U.S. 281 main lanes — will be the same height as the interchange at Interstate 10 and Loop 410, and 4 feet higher than the interchange connecting Loop 410 to U.S. 281, said Gina Gallegos, director of construction for the Texas Department of Transportation's San Antonio district.

Besides some impressive views, project engineers hope the interchange also will bring much needed relief for the 50,000 vehicles that travel between U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 every day.

It is often a slow-going journey now: Drivers must stop at traffic lights to get from one corridor to the other.

Trips between the two that can take eight to 10 minutes today could be reduced to one minute with the interchange, said Leroy Alloway, spokesman for the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, the agency building it.

Once the first connector is finished, drivers traveling north on U.S. 281 still can take the existing exit to Loop 1604. But they also will be able to enter the interchange via a left-hand ramp in the center of the U.S. 281 main lanes.

The interchange project has been in the works for a year and a half. That's fast, by major construction standards: The interchange at Loop 410 and U.S. 281 took 31/2 years to build, Gallegos said.

Eventually, a northern interchange — funded by 2012 city bond dollars and money from the Texas Mobility Fund — will be constructed, so flyovers will connect southbound U.S. 281 traffic to the loop.

So-called “stubs” have been included in the current project, so they can easily hook up to the future connectors, said Dale Stein, chief engineer for Alamo RMA.

Work on that project can't begin until the completion of federal environmental studies that are under way. Those should be done by 2014.

Several Bexar County representatives toured the site Wednesday morning. Among them was County Commissioner Kevin Wolff, who helped identify half the funds for the northern interchange.

His presence, along with County Judge Nelson Wolff, was a reminder of a political shakeup that played out over the summer as interchange construction moved forward.

From a local government standpoint, Bexar County officials have an inherent interest in the project, because it's a congestion-reliever.

But their interest is twofold: County commissioners voted in June to take over all Alamo RMA operations, only to scale back that plan last month.

Now, county officials say they want legislation that would officially hand the powers of the RMA over to the county. Until then, the RMA will continue to manage its own operations.

That means the fate of the RMA could be undecided for at least another year.

But on this day, officials put aside those discussions and instead admired the network of steel and concrete arcing over the existing freeway lanes.

“It's going to make a significant difference out here,” the county judge said as he stood atop one of the still-incomplete ramps looking out over the traffic, businesses and homes below.

Downtown, where the county judge and the commissioners have their offices, was a fuzzy outline on the horizon.

Asked about whether the county was ready to pursue similar projects, Wolff answered, “We'll see what the heck the Legislature has to say.”

vdavila@express-news.net