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System > I-35 North
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This page covers
Interstate 35 north of downtown San Antonio from the I-10 West
interchange to FM 482 in Schertz. For information on I-35
continuing north, see the
San Antonio-Austin Corridor page. For
information on I-35 south of downtown, see the
I-35 South page.
Length:
20 miles |
On this page:
Description
This freeway serves the northeast
corridor and provides access to Fort Sam Houston, Splashtown water park,
the AT&T Center and Freeman Coliseum, Brooke Army Medical Center, Randolph AFB, Retama Park racetrack, the Forum shopping
center, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and the cities of Kirby, Windcrest,
Live Oak, Converse, Universal City, Selma, and Schertz. The route
is entirely urban and suburban and the majority of the adjacent land use
consists of warehouse, light industry, and heavy commercial development.
This route is also the southern continuation of the San Antonio-Austin
Corridor and is part of the so-called "NAFTA Superhighway".
There are two interchanges with
Loop 410 along this corridor. Loop 410 North intersects north of
Walzem at the Fratt Interchange, and Loop 410 South intersects south of
Rittiman at the BAMC Interchange, also known as the "410 South Cutoff".
Loop 410 is multiplexed with I-35 in between.
Roadway details
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LANES |
- 10 lanes
double-decked (6 lanes on the upper levels;
4 lanes on the lower level) from I-10 West to I-37/US 281
- 6 lanes from
I-37/US 281 to Loop 410 North (Fratt Interchange)
-
8 lanes from Loop 410
North to Pat Booker (SH 218)
- 6 lanes from
Pat Booker to FM 482
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ACCESS ROADS |
- No traditional access
roads from I-10 West to I-37/US 28. Elmira St.
functions as a southbound access road and Quincy St. functions as a
northbound access road.
- Continuous access
roads along most of route north of downtown.
- Northbound access road does
not continue through Loop 410 South (BAMC) interchange or
Loop 1604 interchange.
- Northbound access road
thru-traffic requires a left turn at Randolph Blvd.
- Southbound access
road thru-traffic requires two left turns at Loop 1604.
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EXITS |
 Click
here for a list of
I-35 North exits
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SPEED LIMITS |
- 60 mph from
I-10 West to Loop 410 North (Fratt Interchange)
- 65 mph from
Loop 410 North to Forum Pkwy
- 70 mph from
Forum Pkwy to FM 482
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
- Double-decked freeway
northbound and southbound between I-10 West and I-37/US 281
- TransGuide coverage
along entire route
- Southbound left exit
to southbound
Loop 410 at BAMC Interchange
- VIA Metropolitan
Transit Randolph Park & Ride located adjacent to Fratt
Interchange
- Carpool parking lots
at following locations:
- Shin Oak Dr. (southbound side)
- Olympia Pkwy. (southbound side)
- Evans Rd. (under freeway)
- Four miles of Loop
410 multiplexed from BAMC Interchange to Fratt Interchange
- US 81 was multiplexed
over I-35 in Bexar County before it was decommissioned south
of Ft. Worth in 1991
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TRAFFIC |
Heavy to extremely heavy
along entire route. The section just north of
Loop 410 North is the second busiest freeway segment in the
city, and the segment at O'Connor is the fourth busiest.
Chronic congestion
occurs on the southbound approach
to Loop 1604, as well as on the approach Loop 410 South (410
South Cutoff) due to a left-hand exit.
Regular morning and afternoon peak-period congestion between
O'Connor and Rittiman. Additional afternoon peak period
congestion northbound approaching I-37/US 281, from Splashtown to
Rittiman, and from Loop 1604 to Schertz Pkwy.
Over the past decade,
the northern half of the corridor has seen strong traffic
growth, with the counts at Pat Booker nearly doubling during
that period. Traffic counts outside 1604 continue to
increase rapidly as well, leading to chronic congestion in that
area.
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AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
|
LOCATION |
1990 |
1996 |
2000 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
'96-'06
% CHG |
| Guadalupe Co. line |
53,000 |
83,000 |
105,000 |
121,000 |
125,160 |
143,000 |
+72% |
| Pat Booker Rd. |
58,000 |
84,000 |
107,000 |
129,000 |
132,930 |
162,000 |
+93% |
| O'Connor Rd. |
98,000 |
126,000 |
141,000 |
165,000 |
168,110 |
193,000 |
+53% |
| Thousand Oaks |
120,000 |
151,000 |
169,000 |
190,000 |
189,630 |
214,000 |
+42% |
| N of Walzem Rd. |
111,000 |
146,000 |
161,000 |
169,000 |
171,680 |
184,000 |
+26% |
| S of Walzem Rd. |
115,000 |
150,000 |
162,000 |
168,000 |
170,040 |
178,000 |
+19% |
| S of Rittiman Rd. |
127,000 |
158,000 |
169,000 |
182,000 |
182,500 |
188,000 |
+19% |
| Binz-Engleman Rd. |
75,000 |
90,000 |
108,000 |
114,000 |
116,620 |
111,000 |
+23% |
| AT&T Center Pkwy |
95,000 |
127,000 |
131,000 |
136,000 |
138,250 |
141,000 |
+11% |
| N. New Braunfels Ave. |
111,000 |
146,000 |
158,000 |
158,000 |
160,510 |
160,000 |
+10% |
| McCullough Ave. |
90,000 |
162,000 |
190,000 |
189,000 |
187,220 |
187,000 |
+15% |
Photos
 Click
here for photos of this freeway.
Construction
projects
 New
Braunfels Ave. to AT&T Center Parkway: This project will replace the Walters
St. overpass with a six-lane overpass to accommodate anticipated increases in
traffic destined for Ft. Sam Houston. The City will subsequently widen
Walters St. between I-35 and the Ft. Sam Houston gate to six lanes as well.
The new overpass will also feature sidewalks, bike lanes and turnarounds, and
has been designed as an aesthetically-pleasing "gateway" structure. To
accommodate the new overpass, the abandoned railroad overpass will be torn-down.
In addition, this project will also reverse the ramps on southbound I-35 between
Walters and New Braunfels, adjust the southbound ramps between AT&T Center
Parkway and Walters, and will add a turnaround at AT&T Center Parkway, along
with other minor improvements along the access roads. This project is
necessitated by the expected increase in traffic accessing Ft. Sam as a result
of recent realignments as well as because of structural issues with the existing
Walters St. overpass caused by shifting subsoils.
Walzem
to Loop 410: To accommodate future traffic from RackSpace, this project will
reconfigure the entrance and exit ramps north of Walzem. The northbound
entrance ramp to I-35 will be extended over the exit ramp to Loop 410, the
current Randolph Blvd. exit ramp will become an entrance ramp, and the current
entrance ramp from Walzem will become an exit ramp. This will reduce heavy
inflows and weaving on northbound I-35 between Walzem and Loop 410.
At Pat Booker:
This project will replace the existing interchange at Pat Booker with a standard
surface street interchange. The existing direct entrance ramp from Pat
Booker to southbound I-35 will be removed and Pat Booker will instead intersect
with the southbound access road at a signalized T-intersection. Another
new signalized intersection will be added on Pat Booker on the east (northbound)
side of I-35 to allow traffic to turn left onto Pat Booker, cross under the
freeway, and proceed to the southbound access road.
At Evans: A new entrance ramp to
northbound I-35 is being added just south of Evans. This will allow
traffic from the Forum and Olympia Pkwy. to enter I-35 directly rather than
traverse the two stop-signed intersections at Evans and FM 1518.
Loop 1604 northward: Work is
being done to extend TransGuide all the way to Austin.
Click
here for the latest status report on these
projects.
Future plans
A Major Investment Study (MIS) of the
corridor conducted in 1996 for the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
suggested the addition of barrier-separated express, truck, and/or HOV lanes to
this freeway. In addition, a "Basic Improvements Package" was also
recommended including signal improvements, better signage, ramp modifications,
expansion of the TransGuide system, addition of pedestrian facilities and
bicycle routes, improved bus service, and design improvements to both Loop 410
interchanges and the Loop 1604 interchange. The signal, signage, and
TransGuide improvements have already been completed. No timetable has been
announced for the express/truck/HOV lanes or interchange improvements, although
these lanes have now surfaced as a possible
toll project. A
fully-directional "stack" interchange is proposed at Loop 1604 as part of the
Loop 1604 tollway project. Work is set to
begin in 2008 on a new overpass for Walters to accommodate expected growth at
Fort Sam Houston. Work will also start in 2008 to reconfigure the I-35/Pat
Booker interchange.
History
I-35 designation authorized on
October 1, 1959. Named PanAm Freeway because it is supposedly a
segment of the Pan American Highway. Was originally called the
"Northeast Expressway."
The first section of this route,
from present-day I-10 West to Broadway, was completed by 1957. By
1961, it had been extended to Artesia Rd. (now SBC Parkway), and the
section north of Fratt was open. The remainder of I-35 North was
completed by 1964. The section from Loop 410 North (Fratt
Interchange) to Loop 1604 was expanded from four to eight lanes in the
early '80s and the Fratt interchange was rebuilt. The section from I-10 West to I-37/US 281 was
double-decked in the late '80s. The section from Loop 1604 to FM
3009 was widened from four to six lanes during the early '90s, and the
segment between FM 3009 and FM 482 was widened from four to six lanes in
1999. TransGuide coverage was added to the section from I-10 West
to New Braunfels Ave. in 1995, from New Braunfels Ave. to Walzem in
early 2000, from Walzem to Starlight Terrace in August 2000, and from
Starlight Terrace to the Guadalupe County line in April 2003.
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