SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Department of Transportation held a public hearing Thursday afternoon, displaying plans for widening a stretch of Interstate 10 between La Cantera Parkway and Ralph Fair Road (FM 3351).
The plan would widen the highway into four lanes in both directions, with the addition of the first high-occupancy vehicle lane in the county.
“It is definitely going to help relieve a lot of the congestion in the area. It has been a project in the works for some time now,” said Laura Lopez, with TxDOT.
“We're excited,” said Ryan Waikem, who owns commercial property along the stretch. “It's going to bring more people out this way, make it easier for people to travel, maybe add more rooftops, and I think it's a great thing for the area.”
The expansion plan was originally approved in 2013, but the HOV lanes were added last year after the state approved the lanes for the project and along Highway 281 from Loop 1604 to Comal County.
Not everyone is excited about the changes.
“My opinion is that we are building these lanes and everyone should be able to ride on it,” said Cindy Gilpin, of Fair Oaks. “I ride that particular stretch every day and 95 percent of the time, it is just me and there is a lot of traffic out here. It's growing tremendously, and I would like to have the opportunity to be on any of the lanes that I choose, not the lanes that they're choosing for me.”
“I don't know why they're trying to put an HOV lane out here when there's not another HOV lane in San Antonio,” added Sheryl Huff, who lives in the area. “They want to spend the money on a lane that's not going to help 90 percent of the people out here. We just need more lanes.”
The project is slated to begin this summer and take three to three-and-a-half years to complete.
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