In the late '80s, US 281 was upgraded from a four-lane divided surface-level highway to a six-lane freeway from Bitters to just north of Loop 1604.  North of 1604, the road remained as a four-lane divided surface-level highway with signals at Encino Rio and Evans.  Since that time, tremendous development has taken place along the 281 corridor north of Loop 1604 to the SH 46 area north of Bulverde.  Meanwhile, US 281 in that area has remained a four and six lane divided surface-level highway with several more signals added due to safety and traffic demands. 

In 2000, TxDOT announced plans to upgrade 281 to a six-lane freeway from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway and to build an overpass at 281 and Borgfeld, with eventual plans to upgrade 281 to a freeway all the way to FM 306 at the Comal/Blanco County line.  At that time, the section from 1604 to Stone Oak was projected to be funded and to start construction in 2003.  However, due to sudden rampant inflation in construction costs, the lowest bid for the project came in far higher than the amount allocated to fund it.  With construction costs spiraling upward nationally, the price tag  for the for the project continued to increase dramatically and the ability to fund the project with tax funds, at least for the near-term, became severely eroded.  Around that same time, Texas voters approved giving the state the ability to use tolling to fund big-ticket highway projects.  To expedite the project, TxDOT availed itself of this new funding mechanism and plans were announced to fund the project with a toll on the new freeway lanes.

Shortly thereafter, a consortium consisting of local construction giant Zachary and the Spanish infrastructure company Cintra, which were working together on a bid to operate the I-35 Trans Texas Corridor project, submitted an unsolicited bid to TxDOT to build the 281 and 1604 tollway projects in return for a 50-year lease to operate the tollways.  Because the bid had merit, TxDOT was required under state law to accept other bids and to fully evaluate the Cintra-Zachary bid.  Since their bid not only paid for construction and subsequent operation of those roadways (which freed funding for other projects), and also paid a large concession fee to the state (which could also be used to fund other projects), the bid was accepted.

Consequently, construction began on the Sonterra to Stone Oak section in December 2005.  Shortly thereafter, workers clearing land for the project accidentally broke a sewer line and the project was suspended in January, 2006, when TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) agreed to perform another environmental assessment (in addition to the four previous assessments) to settle a lawsuit filed by environmentalists and the contract with Cintra-Zachary was cancelled.  In early 2007, TxDOT released the new assessment, which showed no significant impacts.  The FHWA approved the new assessment on August 14th 2007, and authorized TxDOT to build the entire 281 tollway in Bexar County from 1604 to Borgfeld.

In the meantime, the Legislature had passed a moratorium on nearly all new privately built and operated toll roads and passed legislation requiring that local Regional Mobility Authorities be given the right of first refusal on toll projects in their jurisdiction.  The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority subsequently opted to take control of both the 281 and 1604 toll projects and now is planning to build the 281 tollway from 1604 to Borgfeld as a two-phased project starting in 2008.

Long-range plans are still on the books to upgrade US 281 to a full freeway all the way to FM 306 at the Comal/Blanco County line, possibly also as a tollway.  The first phase of that eventual plan will upgrade 281 to a divided surface-level highway from the Guadalupe River to FM 306, although no funding or timeline has been identified for that project as of yet.  Planners are also working on final plans for a fully-directional tolled interchange at 281 and 1604 as part of the Loop 1604 tollway project.

Proposed design

The new tollway will look and function just like a regular toll-free expressway.  In other words, it will look just like an extension of the current freeway.  There will be no toll plazas and, other than a few electronic overhead gantries, will have no other special features that will differentiate it from a regular expressway.

How the toll lanes will be added
To build the new tolled lanes, the two existing at-grade, signalized roadways will be shifted outward where they will function as toll-free frontage roads for the tolled expressway lanes that will then be built down the middle. Additionally, several improvements will be made to the toll-free lanes including an average of one additional lane in each direction throughout the project, turnarounds and additional turning lanes at intersections, and a toll-free overpass at Redland Rd.  Including the tolled lanes, the project will provide an average of three times the number of lanes as there are today.

It is important to note that the design of this project is virtually identical to the previously proposed toll-free project.  The only difference now is that drivers who opt to use the new expressway lanes will pay a toll.  (It seems many people cannot wrap their minds around this rather simple fact.)

Animated graphic showing how toll lanes will be added to the existing US 281.
For a still shot of the final frame, click here.

Simulation and still shots of proposed improvements

Below is computer simulation of the planned upgrade to US 281 from Loop 1604 to Borgfeld showing the proposed configuration of the project.  Below that you will find a link to a page with annotated still shots from the simulation of key intersections showing the location of the tolled and non-tolled lanes and other important features.

Loop 1604 to Borgfeld

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvvUrHaAlo8

This page last updated
April 18, 2008 10:52 AM