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Texas Highwayman Pages > San Antonio Freeway
System > I-35 South
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This page covers
Interstate 35 west and south of downtown San Antonio from the
I-10 West interchange to Fischer Rd. For information on
I-35 north of downtown, see the
I-35 North page.
Length:
12 miles |
On this page:
Description
With the passage of NAFTA, I-35
South has become an increasingly important spoke in San Antonio's
freeway system. This segment serves the city's southwest side and
continues on Laredo, the busiest US-Mexico border crossing. This
corridor is also an important part of efforts to convert Kelly AFB to an
inland port and will be an important route to the new Toyota truck
assembly plant in southern Bexar County.
This segment serves downtown San
Antonio, Market Square, the University of Texas at San Antonio- Downtown
campus, the San Antonio Produce Market, South Park Mall, and Palo Alto
College. Commercial and industrial development fronts the freeway
near downtown. Residential and some commercial development lines
the corridor south of US 90 to Spur 422. Undeveloped land takes over
south of Spur 422.
Roadway details
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LANES |
- 8 lanes from
I-10 West to Laredo St. with a short double-decked stretch
(4 lanes on the upper levels; 4 lanes on the lower level)
from Guadalupe St. to S. Alamo St.
- 9 lanes (4
southbound,
5 northbound) from Laredo St. to US 90
- 6 lanes from
US 90 to Spur 422/Poteet-Jourdanton Hwy.
- 4 lanes from
Spur 422/Poteet-Jourdanton Hwy. to Fischer Rd.
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ACCESS ROADS |
- No traditional access
roads from I-10 West to US 90, although S Pecos-La Trinidad
and S Laredo function as access roads
- Continuous access
roads along most of remainder of route
- Access roads do not
continue through Loop 410 interchange. Northbound access road does
not continue through Spur 422 interchange.
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EXITS |
Click
here for a list of
I-35 South exits
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SPEED LIMITS |
- 60 mph from
I-10 West to Loop 410
- 70 mph from
Loop 410 to Fischer Rd.
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
- Double-decked freeway
from just north of S. Alamo to just south of S. Laredo
- TransGuide coverage
from I-10 West to Southcross
- Southbound left exit
to Spur 422; northbound left exits to Loop 353 and Palo Alto
- Two miles of I-10/US
87 multiplexed from I-10 West to US 90
- 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 |
Generally heavy from I-10
West to SW Military. Moderate to light volumes south from
there. Regular peak-period congestion can be found
northbound in the morning between Division and Durango and in
the evening southbound
between Durango and US 90.
Overall, the corridor has
seen strong traffic growth over the last decade. The
increase in NAFTA-related trucking has contributed significantly
to that growth.
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AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
|
LOCATION |
1990 |
1996 |
2000 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
'96-'06
% CHG |
| S. Laredo St. |
79,000 |
138,000 |
179,000 |
165,000 |
170,190 |
176,000 |
+28% |
| Theo Ave. |
92,000 |
131,000 |
159,000 |
146,000 |
149,890 |
157,000 |
+20% |
| N of SW Military Dr. |
59,000 |
85,000 |
102,000 |
106,000 |
108,340 |
106,000 |
+25% |
| S of SW Military Dr. |
34,000 |
50,000 |
63,000 |
69,000 |
68,630 |
73,000 |
+46% |
| S of Poteet-Jourdenton Hwy. |
18,800 |
25,000 |
34,000 |
40,000 |
41,760 |
41,000 |
+64% |
| N of New Laredo Hwy. |
17,000 |
22,000 |
33,000 |
37,000 |
37,750 |
37,000 |
+68% |
| Fischer Rd. |
21,000 |
29,000 |
35,000 |
38,000 |
39,320 |
42,000 |
+45% |
Photos
 Click
here for photos of this freeway.
Construction
projects
 US
90 to Zarzamora Ave.: Construction is currently underway to reconfigure the
entrance and exit ramps, widen the access roads, and add various
miscellaneous improvements.
Zarzamora Ave. to Somerset Rd.:
This project will reconfigure the interchange at Spur 422 and replace it with a
standard surface street interchange. All left hand exits will be removed.
The northbound access road will be extended through the interchange, Spur 422
will be realigned, and a signalized intersection will be added at Patron.
The entrance and exit ramps along I-35 will be adjusted and the pedestrian
bridge over I-35 just north of Spur 422 will be reconstructed.
Click
here for the latest status report on these
projects.
Future plans
The 1989 Project Development Plan authorized
expansion of I-35 South from six to eight lanes from US 90 to SW Military.
However, no timetable has ever been put forth for this expansion. A new
expressway (Kelly Parkway) running north from SH 16 to US 90 is proposed as part
of the Kelly AFB privatization road improvements package. The MPO's 25-year
plan has proposals for the expansion of I-35 to eight lanes from SW Military to
Loop 410 and to six lanes from Loop 410 to the Atascosa County line.
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
"Southwest Expressway." This freeway is also part of the so-called
NAFTA Superhighway.
The section from S. Alamo to
Nogalitos was completed by 1951. The segment north of that to
present-day I-10 West was completed by 1957. There were two
proposals for the section from Nogalitos to Loop 410, including one that
would have usurped Nogalitos and New Laredo Hwy. The final routing
was approved by 1957 and open to traffic by 1964. The section from
I-10 West to US 90 was expanded in the late '80s. The section from
SW Military to Spur 422 was expanded from four to six lanes around 1989.
TransGuide coverage was added to the section from I-10W to Southcross in
1995.
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