BOERNE, Texas – Construction crews in Boerne are putting the final touches on the new Herff Road extension, which will allow drivers a more direct way to get from Interstate 10 to Highway 46 on the city’s Southeast Side.
Voters in Kendall County voted for the $10 million road project several years ago.
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Phase 1, which expanded Herff Road from Highway 46 to Old San Antonio Road, was delayed by issues with utilities and multiple weather events. It was completed in October.
Phase 2 extended Herff Road from Old San Antonio to Main Street/Business Highway 87. While most of the project wrapped up a few weeks ago, county engineer Rick Tabolka said TxDOT crews were out Tuesday flipping the switch on the new stop lights.
City leaders are also optimistic the newly completed road will have a positive impact on drivers.
According to traffic counts provided by TxDOT, in 2012, 24,000 vehicles pass through the Main Street/Highway 46 intersection in downtown everyday.
“Moving traffic between Highway 46 east and IH 10 was a primary goal for the new Herff Road and we believe it will absolutely accomplish that by itself. The goal was to take traffic from Hwy 46 to IH 10 (and vice versa) without passing through downtown," Boerne deputy city manager Jeff Thompson said. “We also believe that since a large amount of traffic comes into Boerne from IH 10 each morning toward the schools on Highway 46 east, that traffic, too, will be diverted from Main Street/downtown, and the new roadway will also alleviate congestion at Cascade Caverns and Scenic Loop.”
While construction has wrapped up, Tabolka said a new traffic count will be conducted over the next month so the new stop lights at Old San Antonio Road and Oak Park Road can be synchronized to traffic patterns.