SAN ANTONIO – New construction is underway on the Northeast Side as part of the massive I-35 NEX Central Project.
Crews are installing bridge beams along Loop 1604 and Lookout Road. The intersection will be closed at 9 p.m. Wednesday through 5 a.m. Thursday.
This work will be one of the four access points for the future elevated highway system that stretches from Bexar to Guadalupe counties.
The Texas Department of Transportation is constructing approximately 9.5 miles of I-35 from Loop 410 at Nacogdoches Road to FM 3009 in the Schertz area.
The I-35 elevated lanes will provide direct connections to I-410 North and Loop 1604 West. Those lanes will provide one high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane and two general-purpose lanes in each direction.
KSAT reached out to TxDOT about progress on the NEX project. Construction is split into three separate construction phases: I-35 NEX Central (this project), I-35 NEX North and I-35 NEX South. The South phase is expected to start this summer.
Here are some more details and upcoming closures for drivers on the Northeast Side. The closures are all weather permitting. Construction work as of the end of March 2024:
- 773 of 1,500 drill shafts (average depth 50 feet) completed to date.
- 372 of 1,128 bridge columns (average height 39 feet) completed to date.
- 115 of 830 concrete bridge caps completed to date.
Upcoming NEX closures in May, weather permitting:
- Scheduled in May, there is a full 24/7 closure of the entrance and exit ramps on northbound I-35 from Toepperwein Road to Pat Booker Road for column cap work for approximately three weeks. Traffic should follow detour signs.
- Scheduled for one weekend in May, there is a full 24/7 closure of the northbound I-35 Olympia Parkway exit from northbound I-35. Traffic should follow detour signs. (This closure would begin at 9 p.m. on a Friday and end at 5 a.m. on Monday.)
- Scheduled to begin in May there is a full 24/7 closure of the northbound I-35 Frontage Road exit and the left lane of the I-35 Frontage Road to eastbound Loop 1604 for drilled shaft, column, column cap and bridge structure work until February 2025. Traffic should take the next exit at Pat Booker Road.
- Right now, a large-scale mill-and-inlay operation is taking place periodically for the next few months on the I-35 NEX Central project. This is to improve the road conditions on I-35, I-410, and Loop 1604 inside the project limits. This operation requires extended lane closure times from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- In the next three months, steel girders are scheduled to be installed over all the lanes of Loop 1604 on southbound I-35. During this process, all lanes of Loop 1604 at I-35 will be closed 24/7 for one weekend.
You can get more information and details on the project here.