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San
Antonio Area Freeway System
Interstate 10 East (José Lopez Freeway) |
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This page last updated September 10, 2023 |
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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
This
unassuming freeway
serves San Antonio's East Side neighborhoods as well as industrial
areas
south
of downtown and near 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 between I-35 and I-37. The corridor
provides access to
the AT&T Center and Freeman Coliseum, the San Antonio Missions
Trail
National Park, and the suburban cities of Kirby and Converse. While
the I-10 corridor itself east of
Foster Rd. is
still mostly lightly developed,
heavy residential and commercial development exists just a few miles
north of
I-10 along FM 78, and that development is now creeping
southward all the way out to FM 1518. Therefore,
this route has
become a favorite commuter route for motorists in the FM 78 corridor
wanting to
avoid the heavy traffic on I-35. 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.
Roadway details
LANES
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- 8 lanes from I-35 to I-37
- 6 lanes from I-37 to Loop 1604
- 4 lanes from Loop 1604 to Pfeil
Rd. (expansion
to six lanes is under construction)
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ACCESS ROADS
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- Continuous access roads from Hackberry St. to
Gevers St.
- Continuous eastbound access roads east of E Houston
St except through
the Loop 410 interchange.
- Continous
westbound access roads between WW White Rd. and E Houston St. and east
of Loop 410. Between Loop 410 and WW White Rd., Emil St. functions as a
two-way frontage road east of the UPRR tracks and as a backage road
west of the tracks.
- No continuous access roads between I-35 and
Hackberry and from Gevers St. to E Houston St.
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EXITS |
Click here
for a list of I-10 East exits.
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SPEED LIMITS
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- 70 mph from Pfeil Rd. to
Ackerman Rd.
- 65 mph from Ackerman Rd. to I-35
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES
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- TransGuide coverage from I-35 to
Roland Ave. and from Loop 410 to Loop 1604..
- Left lane truck ban (6am-9pm
M-F) inside Loop 410.
- High-mast
lighting has replaced the traditional streetlights between
I-35 and I-37.
- Route number concurrency
(multiplexes):
- US 90
along entire route
- US 87
from I-35 to Roland Ave.
- SH 130
from Loop 410 east to Seguin
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TRAFFIC
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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.
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AVERAGE
ANNUAL 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% |
Media
gallery
Click
here
for video of this freeway.
Construction projects
- Loop 410 to Loop 1604:
Click here for
details on this project.
- Loop 1604 to Pfeil Rd.:
Click here for
details on this project.
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
expected to start construction in 2021. A five-level "stack"
interchange was proposed at Loop 1604 as part
of the
Loop 1604 managed lanes
project, but it will now be done as a standalone
toll-free project. TxDOT plans to eventually widen all I-10 between San
Antonio and Houston to six lanes.
History
US
90 and its predecessor SH 3 headed
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.
1945:
The earliest expressway plans would have routed this freeway from the
WW White Rd. area northwest to join I-35 near AT&T Center
Parkway.
- 1952: An new
proposal for this freeway
would have used today's I-10 from Loop 410 to Salado Creek. From there,
the
route would have followed the Aransas Ave. corridor to near New
Braunfels Ave. where it would have turned west and followed the Indiana
St. corridor. After crossing today's I-37, it would have turned
northwest and crossed Presa St. and St. Mary's St. at Sadie St.
Continuing northwest, it would have crossed Alamo St., the King William
District, and the San Antonio River between Sheridan St. and Beauregard
St. It then would have continued along Arsenal St. and El Paso St. to
an interchange with I-35.
- 1956:
The proposed alignment was shifted further south and included today's
route between I-35 and I-37. From there, it would have continued east
along the Bailey Ave. corridor to Clark Ave. before turning northeast
to meet Houston St. just east of Commerce St. This route generated
significant controversy.
- 1959: The alignment
for the route inside Loop 410 was finally settled.
Meanwhile, the freeway segment from just inside Loop 410 to just west
of FM 1516 was completed.
- 1962: The freeway
from FM 1516 to the county line was completed.
- 1963: The first
Interstate rest area in Texas opens on I-10 just west of FM 1518. (It
was removed sometime around 2006.)
- 1964: The
section from Commerce St. to Loop 410 was completed as was the Loop 410
interchange.
- 1967: The segment
between I-35 and I-37 opened.
- 1968: The section
from Commerce St. to I-37 opened.
- 1995: TransGuide
coverage was
added to the section west of Roland Ave. as part of the original
TransGuide project.
- 2009: Various
operational improvements were made to the section between Loop 410 and
Foster Rd.
- 2010: Operational
improvements were made at the Loop 410 interchange.
- 2011: The
Texas Transportation Commission approved extending the SH 130
designation along
I-10 from the terminus of the SH 130 toll road east of Seguin to Loop
410, then
south along Loop 410 to I-35 South. Signage was installed in
2013.
- 2021: The section
from Loop 410 to Loop 1604 was widened to six lanes.

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

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
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)
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