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Home >
Texas Highwayman Pages > San Antonio Freeway
System > FAQ
Below are some of the most
common questions or complaints about San Antonio freeways that I hear.
These questions are organized under a few general topics and my answer
to each can be read by clicking the small "+" icon next to each
question.
TransGuide
What's the point of TransGuide? All it ever tells me about is
congestion that I see
everyday and already know about.
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Yes, it's true that many TransGuide messages are about areas of chronic
or recurring congestion that are familiar and well-known to commuters
along those routes. However, these congestion reports are useful
to people who are not familiar with that road (i.e. truckers and
tourists passing through, local residents who don't usually travel that
route, etc.) and are also useful as reminders to regulars to be cautious
as they approach the congestion. Studies have shown that these
warnings improve the traffic flow and safety in the areas where they are
used. TransGuide's original intent, and the area where it really
excels, is reporting on incidents that cause unusual or severe
congestion, and providing those reports in a timely manner to allow
motorists to take alternate routes. Also, TransGuide can often
detect such incidents before they are even reported by phone. And
whether TransGuide detects the incident first or it's reported by phone,
TransGuide is useful in determining the precise location (telephoned
reports are often vague or inaccurate in this regard) and, even more
beneficial, TransGuide's operators can determine the extent of the
incident to ensure that the proper assistance is dispatched immediately.
These factors combine to mean that TransGuide saves lives. That
alone is worth the cost. If you want some hard stats about
TransGuide's benefits, see my
TransGuide page. |
to get where I'm going.
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The travel times shown on TransGuide signs are computed every minute based on traffic conditions. While the times they show
during periods without congestion may seem pointless to those who travel the road often, they do serve the purpose of providing
regular travelers of the road with a "baseline" travel time for a route. Then, when the road is congested and travel times
increase correspondingly, travelers familar with the "baseline" travel times can judge the severity of the downstream congestion and
determine whether or not to use an alternate route. |
on TransGuide building new highway lanes?
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Funding for TransGuide comes from a special source reserved only for
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). If TransGuide didn't get
that money, some other city's traffic management system would. The
money that's used for TransGuide cannot by law be used for anything
other than ITS projects. Besides, there comes a point when you
can't build your way out of congestion any longer. Instead, you
have to manage what you have. That's the function of TransGuide. |
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The answers are on my
TransGuide page. Obeying these signs (technically, they're
called Lane Control Signals or Lane Use Signals) is important.
Failure to do so causes increased congestion at best and additional
accidents at worst. Also, state law requires motorists to obey
them. The good news is that a recent study showed about an 85%
compliance rate. |
US 281 Interchanges (or lack thereof)
Why was there no interchange at Loop 410 near the airport?
OK, why is there no directional interchange at 281 and 1604?
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Well, it basically comes down to two things: money and a miscalculation.
First off, these things are expensive. For example, the 410/281
interchange under construction near the airport cost in the neighborhood
of $150 million which, until recently, was about the total amount of
funding San Antonio received annually for all new highway
construction. For the record, the San Antonio area has
traditionally been
shortchanged in that regard,
although
recent changes to both state and federal funding formulas have
improved that ratio substantially.
As for the miscalculation, TxDOT's planners admit they underestimated traffic
growth in that area by about 15 years. To be fair, it wasn't entirely their fault.
When 1604 was upgraded in the mid '80s, there were a lot of people who,
because of existing congestion, used alternate routes. This
created an unknown and unusually large "latent demand". So, when
the bigger 1604 opened, a lot more cars appeared than anyone had planned
for. Add to that the extremely rapid growth of that area, and the
result is the mess you see today. A directional interchange will be built as part of the area's
tollway system. |
corners of that intersection are now developed.
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Actually, they won't build a cloverleaf. Cloverleafs are rarely
used anymore because they are not very efficient, especially in
high-volume areas. The type of interchange that will be built will
be a "directional" interchange, also known as a "stack", similar to
those now being built at 10/410 and 281/410. Believe it or not,
because stack interchanges are built up instead of out, there is
sufficient room to build such an interchange without having to take
anything but some small parcels of land around the edges. |
Loop 1604
Is it "Loop" 1604 or "FM" 1604?
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It is Loop 1604. A Loop designation is equivalent to a State
Highway, which makes it eligible for federal funding. The FM system is funded entirely by the state.
There is an FM 1604 in North Texas.
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As the loop was being built, the state numbered the project FM 1604. Once
it was completed and the designation was ready to be changed to "Loop",
the route number 1604 had become well-known among locals, so it was retained
and the designation simply changed from FM to Loop. It is an
exception to Texas' numbering rules. |
Other
What was the first freeway built in San Antonio?
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The section of US 87 (now part of the lower level of I-10) between
Woodlawn/ Fredericksburg and Martin. It opened in 1949. (See my
San Antonio
Freeways History page for a complete history of the freeway system.) |
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It may seem that way, but projects are actually completed as quickly as
they can be. Building a road or interchange is a lot of
work, starting with quite a bit of underground work you don't actually see:
utility adjustments, drainage work, and deep bore foundations for bridge
piers. Then, workers have to build the new roadways while still
maintaining reasonable traffic flow. Here's an analogy: imagine
trying to re-carpet your house while still using the furniture!
Another reason it may seem like there's always construction is that big
projects are frequently broken-up into smaller projects and phases due to funding
constraints, so part of a project may be completed, then work shifts to
an adjacent section. If you don't pay attention, it may seem
like a certain road is "always under construction", but in reality,
things are moving along. (See also "Why
is there no work being done?" |
Callaghan and Loop 410 between Blanco and I-10?
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Those stretches of freeway, which currently have four marked lanes, will eventually have five
or six lanes. However, until the
I-10/Loop 410 interchange is complete, having five or six lanes on the
approach to the interchange would create a significant bottleneck due to
reduced capacity through the interchange area.
Therefore, instead of opening all of the lanes on those routes,
they just marked the four lanes and left the remainder of roadway as a
"shoulder". When the interchange is done, it will be a simple matter of
marking the additional lanes. |
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Since the late '80s, TxDOT has proposed various upgrades to Bandera in
that area, including adding flyovers at major intersections, but the
City of Leon Valley vetoed all of the plans. Fortunately, fresh
leadership in recent years has resulted in a change to Leon Valley's
official position, although the City Council passed a resolution
recently against a proposed elevated tollway
along Bandera. (See my
tollway page for more
details.) |
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Actually, most of them are. About 75% of traffic signals in the
City of San Antonio are part of an interconnected progression system.
There are still some kinks in the system, namely that frontage road
signals are not connected to the system and that the interconnects along
arterials presently are not networked into a city-wide system, but
overall, if you travel the speed limit on major thoroughfares, you
should hit mostly (if not all) green lights. In 2007,
the City announced that they would be spending $33 million over the
following four years to upgrade the system. |
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