SAN ANTONIO – The next phase of a project to expand Interstate 35 through elevated highway lanes kicked off Tuesday with a groundbreaking ceremony.
The $700 million South Project Phase 1 runs along the roughly four-mile stretch of highway that coincides with Loop 410 and is the second of five project phases in the I-35 Northeast Expansion (NEX) program. The $3 billion, roughly 20-mile program is part of a Texas Department of Transportation strategy to ease congestion in the state’s five largest metro areas.
Central to I-35 NEX is the addition of the elevated lanes: two regular lanes and a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane running in each direction. The resulting double-decker effect is similar to what drivers might see going through downtown Austin.
The Texas Department of Transportation started the biggest phase of I-35 NEX, which it called the “Central Project,” in June 2022. That work, running from Loop 410 and Nacogdoches Road up to the Schertz area, is expected to remain under construction into late 2027.
South Project Phase 1 is expected to run into late 2028. The remaining three projects are still under design: South Phase 2, South Phase 3, and North Project.
Texas Transportation Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr. said the entire I-35 NEX program is expected to be finished sometime in 2028.
“I drive in my job as chairman of TxDOT, I drive to Austin all the time,” he said to members of the media. “And we know that I-35 between San Antonio and Austin’s very congested. But I don’t mind going through the orange cones because I know that’s progress. And what I would say to Texans is that ‘we’re there. We’re doing this to help alleviate the congestion. We’re doing this for your benefit.’”
A TxDOT spokeswoman told KSAT she did not have the construction schedule for the next project phase, but it will certainly involve lane closures.
TxDOT has a webpage devoted to the project, which you can view HERE.