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January 2025: Issue 25
In this issue
- QR for Quality Record
- Building Stonehenge
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Maximizing Work Zones
- I-35 NEX Central Update
- Active Construction Sites
- Contact Us
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The I-35 Northeast Expansion (NEX) Program covers approximately 20 miles of I-35 from N. Walters Street to FM 1103 in Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe Counties. The I-35 NEX Program–including Central, South, and North projects – involves the construction of two elevated structures that will carry two general purpose lanes and one HOV lane in each direction. The elevated structures will be constructed between the existing I-35 mainlanes and frontage roads. The program also includes incidental construction necessary to transition the elevated lanes and connectors with the existing highways including revisions to ramps and frontage roads and accommodations for drainage, utilities, signs, and other highway improvements.
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The extensive documentation of every step in the creation of bridge support structures – from soil testing and drilling data to the concrete mix and the composition of reinforcing steel – would fill a website.
Oh, wait. That’s exactly what we’re doing on the first phase of the I-35 NEX South project.
For the first time in TxDOT history, every process, date, and data point from planning to completion is being collected on a site that can be accessed by scanning a QR code on a bridge column. Accessing the information requires special software.
That’s useful today, but the real value could come years from now when a TxDOT crew who didn’t even work on this project can quickly access a complete record and know when the structure was last painted, if it’s ever been damaged and repaired, and what specifications it was built to.
Fun Fact: While our QR code is a Quality Record, QR in the original two-dimensional barcode stands for Quick Response. It was invented in 1994 by Denso Wave of Japan to track vehicles and parts during manufacturing.
Is the mystery of Stonehenge that it’s an incomplete highway bridge?
A quick look at the pilar-like caps topping columns adjacent to I-35 just south of the I-410 interchange might make you wonder.
Construction of the I-35 structures is not as enigmatic as that of Stonehenge, but it’s still amazing.
In the video, a crane sets a 75,000-pound cap on two 35-foot-tall bridge columns at night, perfectly aligning the holes in the cap with the steel bars in the top of the column.
These are the first structures of their kind on the first phase of I-35 Northeast Expansion (NEX) South.
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 Looking south towards Loop 1604 on I-35 between the elevated lanes of the I-35 NEX project.
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The I-35 NEX project receives numerous questions each week regarding various aspects of the construction. One of the most frequently asked questions is why the construction areas are spread out instead of in one continuous line.
The simple answer is it's about having enough space to work safely. Construction began in the more open sections of the corridor, specifically around the area of the southbound I-35 frontage road and Pat Booker Road and south of the I-35/I-410 interchange. Most areas are congested with existing infrastructure and require long-term closures of ramps or lanes, which necessitates careful coordination to minimize the impact of these closures as much as possible. Furthermore, many areas require underground work, such as drainage installation and utility relocation, which must be completed before the construction of structures can begin. These factors create physical constraints that prevent work from starting in those areas.
In an ideal scenario, having more space for safe work zones would allow us to start at one end and maintain continuity in production. However, the most effective approach for the I-35 NEX project is to work in all accessible areas first.
 A significant milestone has been reached in the first phase of the I-35 NEX project. Recently, more than 1,000 concrete bridge beams have been installed, which is over 20% of the total 4,798 concrete bridge beams to be completed.
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Below is a list of notable active and upcoming construction work. Click on maps for more information. Please note that closures are subject to change.
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One or two mainlanes of I-35 in either direction from north of Walzem Road to Petroleum Drive will be closed for median reconstruction. At least one mainlane will remain open in both directions at all times.
The lane closures will occur on weekends (Friday through Monday) 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. through early 2025.
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Nightly closures of westbound mainlanes of Loop 1604 from Pat Booker Road to Lookout Road and the Lookout Road intersection at Loop 1604 for bridge deck work. Traffic should follow detour signs.
The closure will occur periodically from November 2024 through February 2025.
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Nightly closures the eastbound mainlanes of Loop 1604 from Lookout Road to IKEA-RBFCU Parkway and the Lookout Road intersection at Loop 1604 for bridge deck work. Traffic should follow detour signs.
This closure will occur periodically from November 2024 through February 2025.
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The Weidner Road exit ramp from the southbound I-35 mainlanes is closed for bridge structure work.
The closure is in progress through February 2025.
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The westbound right lane of Weidner Road at I-35 and both turnarounds at the Weidner Road and I-35 intersection is closed for utility relocation and drilled shaft work.
The closure is in project through February 2025.
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The southbound entrance ramp to I-35 south of O’Connor Road is closed for bridge structure work.
The closure is in progress through May 2025.
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Exit 174A, the FM 1518/Evans Road exit on northbound I-35 will be closed for approximately eight months or until the new exit ramp is constructed. This closure is necessary for drilled shaft work.
This closure is in progress and is scheduled to end Monday, May 5, 2025.
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The southbound I-35 exit ramp to Thousand Oaks Drive/Starlight Terrace is closed for drilled shaft and column work from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. until Friday, May 2, 2025. |
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TxDOT San Antonio District
Public Information Office
4615 NW Loop 410
San Antonio, TX 78229
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E-alert
Sign up for weekly lane closure notices and newsletters by emailing us at i35NEX@txdot.gov
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