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San Antonio Area Freeway System
Interstate 10 East
(José Lopez Freeway)

This page last updated February 3, 2024

I-10 East highlight map
I-10 East highlight map

This page covers Interstate 10 south and east of downtown San Antonio from I‑35 to Pfeil Rd. Two miles of I‑10 is concurrent (multiplexed) with I‑35 north of the western end of this segment; see the I‑35 South page for details on that segment. Interstate 10 then continues northwest of downtown; see the I‑10 West page for more info.

Length: 11 miles



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On this page:

Overview Roadway
details
Lanes Access
roads
       
Exits Speed
limits
Special features
and notes
Traffic
       
Media
gallery
Construction
projects
Future
plans
History
       

Overview

This unassuming freeway serves San Antonio's East Side neighborhoods as well as industrial areas south of downtown and around Loop 410. Residential areas line most of the route between I‑37 and E Houston St., while commercial and industrial uses front the corridor east of there and also between I‑35 and I‑37.

While the I‑10 frontage east of Foster Rd. is still mostly lightly developed, heavy residential and commercial development exists just north of I‑10 in the FM 78 corridor, and that development is now spreading southward to I‑10 all the way out to FM 1518, and, in the area around Loop 1604, now has even crossed over to the southern side of I‑10. As a result, commuter traffic is growing in this corridor. New industrial development is also occurring within and south of the I‑10 corridor in the Foster Rd. area, which has increased truck traffic in the corridor.

The corridor provides access to the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum, the San Antonio Missions Trail National Park, and the suburban cities of Kirby and Converse.


Roadway details

LANES
I-10 East lanes map
  • 8 lanes between I‑35 and I‑37.
  • 6 lanes between I‑37 and Loop 1604
  • 4 lanes between Loop 1604 and Pfeil Rd. (expansion to six lanes is under construction)
I-10 East lanes map
   
ACCESS ROADS
I-10 East access roads map
  • No continuous access roads between I‑35 and Hackberry and between Gevers St. to E Houston St.
  • Continuous access roads from Hackberry St. to Gevers St.
  • Continuous eastbound access roads east of E Houston St except through the Loop 410 interchange.
  • Continuous westbound access roads between E Houston St. and Loop 410 — between WW White Rd. and Loop 410, Emil St. functions as a two-way frontage road east of the UPRR tracks and as a backage road west of the tracks
  • Continuous access roads east of Loop 410
I-10 East access roads map
   
EXITS

Click here for a list of I‑10 East exits.
 
 
SPEED LIMITS
I-10 East speed limit map
  • 65 mph between I‑35 and Ackerman Rd.
  • 70 mph between Ackerman Rd. and Pfeil Rd.
I-10 East speed limit map
   
SPECIAL FEATURES AND NOTES
I-10 East special features map
  • Route number concurrency (multiplexes):
    • along entire route
    • from I‑35 to Roland Ave.
    • from Loop 410 east to Seguin
  • TransGuide coverage from I‑35 to Roland Ave. and from Loop 410 to Loop 1604
  • Left lane truck ban (6am-9pm Monday-Friday) inside Loop 410
I-10 East special features map
   
TRAFFIC
I-10 East traffic map

Heavy between I‑35 and Roland Ave. Moderate east of Roland Ave.

Recurring congestion occurs in the mornings and evenings in both directions between I‑35 and I‑37, and westbound approaching I‑37. Previous congestion in the Ackerman Rd. area has been relieved by the recent freeway expansion there.


Traffic volume legend
I-10 East traffic map
   
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC
LOCATION 2002 2012 2017 2019 2021 2022 '12-'22
% CHG
E of Loop 1604E 33,500 37,000 54,629 56,317 60,663 56,744 +53.36%
W of Loop 1604E> 33,600 46,000 61,905 65,321 75,457 70,701 +53.70%
E of Foster Rd. 41,000 55,000 71,602 75,486 80,830 75,674 +37.59%
E of Ackerman Rd. 65,000 38,000 51,707 57,033 64,529 60,489 +59.18%
E of WW White Rd. 52,000 71,000 81,837 79,822 81,224 75,896 +6.90%
W of WW White Rd. 55,000 71,000 79,742 78,059 80,225 74,960 +5.58%
E of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. 56,000 71,000 86,323 77,872 83,311 77,787 +9.56%
W of Gevers St. 72,000 86,000 91,302 88,996 100,519 93,944 +9.24%
E of Probandt St. 114,000 117,000 152,676 149,338 147,822 138,021 +17.97%
W of Probandt St. 116,000 120,000 154,537 149,616 146,320 151,312 +26.09%



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Media gallery

Click here for historical photos of this freeway.

Click here for video of this freeway.


Construction projects

Click here to view information for all projects in this corridor.


Future plans

TxDOT has plans to upgrade both the Loop 410 and Loop 1604 interchanges. The first phase of a fully-directional, five-level "stack" interchange at Loop 410 is currently under construction. A future phase(s) will construct the remainder of the interchange.

A five-level "stack" interchange was proposed at Loop 1604 as part of an earlier Loop 1604 project, but it is now expected to be done as a standalone project.

A project to widen I‑10 through Seguin is started construction in early 2024. TxDOT plans to eventually widen all of I‑10 between San Antonio and Houston to six lanes.


History

US 90 and its predecessor SH 3 heading east to Seguin originally followed today's FM 78. A new alignment for US 90 that followed today's I‑10 east of Commerce St. was built in 1932 as part of the Arneson Plan to improve state highways in Bexar County. Most of that original alignment is where the westbound frontage road is today.

This freeway was originally called the "East Expressway" and was also known for a short time as the "Highland Park Expressway." It was renamed in 1994 for José Lopez, a Medal of Honor recipient. The designation as I‑10 was authorized on October 1, 1959.

The routing of the freeway between Loop 410 and downtown was subject to several revisions and some controversy before today's alignment was finalized in 1959. Planning for this route was done in conjunction with the planning for I‑37.

I-10 East history map
I-10 East history map
I-10 at New Braunfels Ave. looking northeast ca. 1967

I‑10 at New Braunfels Ave. looking northeast ca. 1967
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

I-10 over Loop 410 looking west ca. 1962

I‑10 over Loop 410 looking west ca. 1962
Note the end of the freeway in the foreground. Planning for the route west of here was still underway.
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

Opening ceremony for rest area near FM 1518 in 1963

Opening ceremony for rest area near FM 1518 in 1963
This was the first Interstate rest area in Texas.
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

More historical photos of I-10 are available here.