The Texas
Highway Man

Home Search Miscellany Updates About me Contact Menu
[i] Information FLYOVER FROM EB LOOP 1604 TO WB I-10 NOW OPEN!
More info here.

Other San Antonio Area Roads
I‑10 West Projects
(Boerne - Fair Oaks Ranch)

This page last updated January 30, 2024

Project map

Since the late aughts, TxDOT has been working on a series of projects on I‑10 West between Loop 1604 and SH 46 to improve intersections, add new overpasses and widen existing ones, convert the access roads to one-way operation, and expand the mainlanes. This page contains information about the projects from Ralph Fair Rd. to SH 46 in Boerne.

Note that all this work on I‑10 between Loop 1604 and Boerne has been a series of individual projects, not one continuous project (see Q&A below for why.)

The overarching goal of several of these projects has been to convert the access roads to one-way operation from Leon Springs to Boerne. As this area continues to become more developed, one-way access roads will be safer and more efficient. For optimal operation and convenience, there needs to be a crossover every mile or so. Otherwise, someone turning onto a one-way access road just past an intersection and wanting to go the opposite direction could have to travel several miles out of their way; having a crossover every mile or so both minimizes this inconvenience and provides better access for emergency vehicles. This is the reason why new overpasses at Old Fredericksburg Road and Balcones Creek Road were included in the plans, and also was the primary reason that the overpass at Dominion Drive was built a decade and a half ago (despite cynical misinformation alleging otherwise.)

None of these projects are related to the recent Kendall Gateway study.

The schematics included for each project below are courtesy of TxDOT; the annotations on them are my own.

Q: Why is there constant construction along this section of I‑10?
A: This is due to funding limitations. A few years into this century, TxDOT developed a master plan for improvements to I‑10 from Loop 1604 to Boerne. However, because of constrained funding levels at that time, that plan had to be broken into multiple smaller projects in order to fit within the projected funding allotments, with each project being an incremental step toward the larger vision. Shortly after the first projects started near Camp Bullis Rd. and Dominion Dr., the legislature and voters approved new funding sources for transportation. This additional funding allowed the series of projects originally expected to be built piecemeal over two decades to be accelerated into the barrage of projects now underway or recently completed.

Here's an analogy: Imagine you want to renovate your house, but you don't have the money to do it all at once. So you make a plan based on your income and figure you can do one project every two years, which means there will be breaks between projects, but it will take eight years or so to get them all done. You start work on the kitchen, but while that's underway, you get an unexpected bonus at work. So you use it to do one of the bathrooms, which is a couple of years earlier than planned. Then a year later, you come into some more money and so now you can do another bathroom three years earlier than you expected, and you can also replace the floors five years earlier than you planned. So now, you have a house that's constantly under construction, but it's getting done faster than you planned. This is essentially what happened on this stretch of I‑10.

The map below shows the timeline of all the projects in this corridor.

Project history map


ADVERTISEMENT




1   SH 46 to Scenic Loop Rd.

This project overhauled and redesigned the interchanges at SH 46 (W Bandera Road) and at Business 87 (S Main Street), completed the westbound frontage road between Business 87 and Christus Parkway, converted all the frontage roads to one-way, and changed the locations of the entrance and exit ramps.

At SH 46, the existing overpass was replaced with a new overpass consisting of two through lanes and a left turn lane in each direction. The access roads adjacent to the overpass were re-aligned inward toward the mainlanes, and portions of the old access roads at School St. and Upper Balcones Rd. were converted to local service streets to maintain access but re-configured to minimize conflicts. A westbound to eastbound turnaround was also constructed. Although not shown on the schematic below, the park & ride lot was kept but was reconfigured.

The Business 87 interchange was rebuilt as a more conventional intersection. A new, wider overpass replaced the previous overpass and now ends in a "T" intersection at a realigned eastbound access road. (The City of Boerne plans to eventually build a new thoroughfare to serve Buc-ees there.) There are now turnarounds for both directions. A new westbound access road now continues beyond the new intersection and joins with the frontage road near Christus Parkway. The existing entrance and exit ramps were relocated further south from the intersection.

At Scenic Loop, an eastbound to westbound turnaround was built, and the entrance and exit ramps north of Scenic Loop were relocated further north.

Rumors

There was an ongoing rumor on social media "from a credible source" that the first half of the new SH 46 overpass was defective and would have to be torn-down and rebuilt. This was obviously not true as traffic was shifted onto that "defective" new overpass without it being torn-down and rebuilt, and the second half of the new overpass has now also been completed.

The moral of the story: don't believe the rumors you read on social media — they're usually wrong.

Status:

Schematic thumbnail

Click the image above to see the schematic for this project


2   At Scenic Loop Rd.

This project lengthened and increased the height of the I‑10 overpass at Scenic Loop in preparation for future turnarounds and intersection expansion (projects 1 and 3 on this page.)


3   Scenic Loop Rd. to Bexar county line

This project converted the access roads between Scenic Loop Road and Balcones Creek Road to one-way, built a westbound to eastbound turnaround at Scenic Loop, relocated the entrance and exit ramps further south, constructed new entrance and exit ramps for Balcones Creek Road (see project #4 below), and constructed new higher access road bridges over Balcones Creek. The existing "lower" access roads and crossover under I‑10 at Balcones Creek were kept.


4   Kendall county line to Fair Oaks Pkwy.

This project constructed a new overpass for I‑10 at Balcones Creek Road and the access roads are were converted to one-way from Balcones Creek Road to Fair Oaks Parkway. An eastbound to westbound turnaround at Fair Oaks Parkway was also built as part of this project. The access roads between Balcones Creek Road and Scenic Loop Road were converted to one-way in a separate project (see #2 above.)


5   At Fair Oaks Pkwy./Tarpon Dr.

This project widened the overpass to five lanes and realigned it to join Fair Oaks Parkway directly to Tarpon Drive. The access roads south of Fair Oaks Pkwy were converted to one-way, and the entrance and exit ramps were relocated as part of project #6 below. The current project at Balcones Creek Road (above) converted the access roads north of Fair Oaks Pkwy. to one-way and relocated the entrance and exit ramps north of Fair Oaks Pkwy.


6   Fair Oaks Pkwy./Tarpon Dr to Ralph Fair Rd.

This project built a new overpass at Old Fredericksburg Road connecting it to Buckskin Drive. The access roads were converted to one-way, new entrance and exit ramps for this intersection added, and the exit and entrance ramps for Ralph Fair Road/Boerne Stage Road were relocated.


7   SH 46 to Ralph Fair Rd.

This roughly $250 million project will expand the I‑10 mainlanes to add one general-purpose mainlane in each direction (for a total of three) plus one HOV lane in each direction. All of the projects above were designed with this project in mind.

Cross section

Proposed I‑10 cross-section


Other sites of interest

TxDOT - I‑10 Kendall Extension
https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/san-antonio/i-10-kendall-extension.html
TxDOT - I‑10 and Scenic Loop Road
https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/san-antonio/i-10-scenic-loop.html.html
TxDOT - I‑10 from SH 46 to FM 3351 (Ralph Fair Road)
https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/san-antonio/071119.html
TxDOT - I‑10 W Perimeter
https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/san-antonio/i-10-w-perimeter.html