Interstate 35 North - The Texas Highway Man

San Antonio Area Freeway System

Interstate 35 North
(North PanAm Freeway)

This page last updated February 3, 2024

This page covers Interstate 35 north of downtown San Antonio from the I‑10 West interchange to FM 482 in Schertz. For information on I‑35 continuing north, see the San Antonio-Austin Corridor page. For details on I‑35 south of downtown, see the I‑35 South page.

Length: 20 miles

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Overview

This freeway serves the northeast corridor and provides access to Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston and Randolph, Brooke Army Medical Center, the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum, the headquarters for Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Retama Park racetrack, the Forum and Live Oak Town Center shopping centers, a significant portion of the region's warehouse space, and the suburban cities of Kirby, Windcrest, Live Oak, Converse, Universal City, Selma, and Schertz.

The route is entirely urban and suburban, and the majority of the adjacent land use consists of warehouse, light industry, and heavy commercial development.

This route is also the southern continuation of the San Antonio-Austin Corridor, is part of the so-called "NAFTA Superhighway", and is on one leg of the Pan American Highway.

Roadway details

LANES

10 lanes double-decked (6 lanes on the upper levels; 4 lanes on the lower level) between I‑10 West and I‑37/US 281. 6 lanes between I‑37/US 281 and Rittiman Rd. 8 lanes between Rittiman Rd. and Pat Booker Rd with a short 6 lane section through the Fratt Interchange (Loop 410 NE) 6 lanes between Pat Booker Rd. and Forum Pkwy. 8 lanes between Forum Pkwy. and FM 3009 6 lanes between FM 3009 and FM 482

ACCESS ROADS

No traditional access roads from I‑10 West to I‑37/US 281 — however, Elmira St. functions as a southbound access road and Quincy St. functions as a northbound access road Continuous access roads along most of route north of downtown with the following exceptions: Northbound access road through-traffic requires a left turn at Binz-Engleman Rd. Northbound access road does not continue through the Loop 1604 interchange Southbound access road through-traffic requires two left turns at Loop 1604.

EXITS

Click here for a list of I‑35 North exits.

SPEED LIMITS

60 mph between I‑10 West and Loop 410 North (Fratt Interchange) 65 mph between Loop 410 North and Forum Pkwy. 70 mph between Forum Pkwy and FM 482

SPECIAL FEATURES AND NOTES

Four miles of concurrent (multiplexed) from Loop 410 South Cutoff to Fratt Interchange was concurrent (multiplexed) with I‑35 in Bexar County before it was decommissioned south of Ft. Worth in 1991 Double-decked freeway northbound and southbound between I‑10 West and I‑37/US 281 TransGuide coverage along entire route VIA Metropolitan Transit Randolph Park & Ride located adjacent to Fratt Interchange Carpool parking ("Park & Pool") lots at following locations: Shin Oak Dr. (southbound side) (Temporarily closed) Olympia Pkwy. (southbound side) Evans Rd. (under freeway)

TRAFFIC

Heavy to extremely heavy along entire route. This route experiences significant recurring bi-directional morning and evening congestion throughout most of the corridor.

AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC
LOCATION	2002	2012	2017	2019	2021	2022	'12-'22 % CHG
N of FM 2252	82,000	114,000	120,233	117,327	142,456	132,938	+16.61%
N of Cibolo Valley Dr.	85,000	118,000	121,936	126,373	151,947	155,912	+32.13%
S of FM 3009	108,000	144,000	153,820	148,484	182,384	186,124	+29.25%
Bexar/Guadalupe line	124,000	153,000	172,800	171,758	217,401	222,111	+45.17%
S of Loop 1604	109,000	164,000	165,061	183,775			N/A
N of O'Connor Rd.	160,000	178,000	197,824	232,237	236,781	231,683	+30.16%
S of Thousand Oaks Dr.	188,000	205,000	218,058	235,528	243,909	237,645	+15.92%
N of Walzem Rd.	171,000	188,000	191,564	202,221	218,126	202,265	+7.59%
S of Walzem Rd.	173,000	184,000	210,091	212,846	183,715	170,062	-7.58%
S of Rittiman Rd.	182,000	188,000	179,075	204,463	175,867	183,254	-2.52%
N of George Beach Ave.	115,000	111,000	124,529	124,240	101,569	94,172	-15.16%
N of Salado Creek	135,000	136,000	142,003	143,756	151,727	140,421	+3.25%
W of New Braunfels Ave.	157,000	156,000	166,941	175,710	183,377	169,816	+8.86%
S of St. Mary's St.	187,000	195,000	196,505	196,852	220,106	196,854	+0.95%

(NOTE: In 2021, TxDOT changed the location of several traffic counting stations. Discontinued stations will show no history for 2021 and thereafter.)

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Media gallery

Click here for historical photos of this freeway.

Click here for video of this freeway.

Construction projects

The massive I‑35 NEX project is double-decking the freeway from Walters St. to FM 1103. Click here for details on this project.

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

Future plans

With the majority of this corridor now undergoing expansion as part of the the I‑35 NEX project, there are no other future plans for this freeway at this time.

History

The first sections to be built were simply called "US 81 Expressway" and later the "Northeast Expressway". The designation as I‑35 was authorized on October 1, 1959. It is currently named the "PanAm Freeway" because it is a segment of the Pan American Highway. US 81 was decommissioned south of Fort Worth in 1991.

Most of the section north of Judson Rd. was part of the original route of US 81 and its predecessor SH 2. The short section of Old Austin Rd. at Loop 1604 was bypassed by the current route in 1934 as part of the Arneson Plan to improve state highways in Bexar County. The section between the two Loop 410 interchanges was originally built as a two-lane road as part of Loop 13 in 1953. Finally, the section between Walters and Salado Creek was originally part of the earliest route for SH 3 and US 90 to Seguin.

Late 1930s: The section from I‑10 to Broadway (and south to Nogalitos St.) was included as part of the original three-legged expressway plan for San Antonio designed to provide bypass routes around downtown for through traffic on the various US highways. The United States' entrance into World War II delayed these plans until after the war.
1954: The segment from Martin St. to Broadway was completed.
1955: The first iteration of the Pat Booker Rd. interchange was completed, and the rest of the pre-existing section of US 81 from Toepperwein Rd. to the county line was upgraded to a "semi-freeway", which was a full divided highway with access roads but no overpasses at intersections.
1957: The segment from the Fratt Interchange to Toepperwein Rd. was opened, and the "Downtown Y" interchange was completed.
1958: Fratt Interchange (I‑35/Loop 410 North) completed.
1960: Work to upgrade the segment from Toepperwein Rd. to the county line to Interstate standards was completed.
December 1961: The segment from Frost Bank Center Dr. (then named Artesia Rd.) to Rittiman Rd. was opened.
May 1962: The section from Broadway to Frost Bank Center Dr. opened.
October 1962: Work to upgrade the section between Rittiman Rd. and the Fratt Interchange to a freeway was completed. This section had already existed since around 1952 as a two-lane road that was part of Loop 13. This completion made I‑35 in Bexar County the first Interstate to be fully completed in a metro county in Texas.
1967: The ramps connecting I‑35 North to and from I‑10 West in the "Downtown Y" interchange were completed. Prior to this, there were only direct connections between I‑35 South and I‑10 West. Traffic headed to and from I‑35 North had to exit and use the access roads.
1972: I‑37/US 281 interchange completed.
1980-1986: The section from Loop 410 North (Fratt Interchange) to Toepperwein Rd. was expanded from four to eight lanes, and the section from Toepperwein Rd. to Forum Pkwy. expanded from four to six lanes. The Loop 1604 cloverleaf was built, and the Pat Booker and Fratt interchanges were rebuilt. The Fratt Interchange project was the largest single highway project undertaken by the state up to that time.
1983-1993: The section from I‑10 West to I‑37/US 281 was rebuilt and double-decked. This was the last section of the massive "Downtown Y" project to be completed when it opened in 1993.
1993: The section from Loop 1604 to FM 3009 was widened from four to six lanes.
1995: TransGuide coverage was added to the section from I‑10 West to New Braunfels Ave. as part of the original TransGuide project.
1999: The segment between FM 3009 and FM 482 was widened from four to six lanes in 1999. George Beach Ave. overpass built.
2000: TransGuide coverage added to the section from New Braunfels Ave. to Starlight Terrace.
2003: TransGuide coverage added from Starlight Terrace to the county line.
2008: TransGuide coverage extended from the county line to Austin.
2010: Walters St. overpass rebuilt.
2014: The section from Loop 1604 to FM 3009 was widened to eight lanes along with interchange improvements at Loop 1604 and an additional southbound lane from Loop 1604 to Judson.
2018: The section between the Loop 410 South Cutoff and Loop 410 NE was widened from six to eight lanes and the Loop 410 South Cutoff interchange was reconfigured. New Braunfels Ave. overpass rebuilt.
2022: Work begins on the I‑35 NEX project.

I‑35 at Broadway looking southwest in 1960

In the foreground, you can see construction of I‑35 underway to the east of Broadway.

(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

I‑35 at Pat Booker Rd. interchange looking southeast ca. 1957

(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

Snippet of ca. 1955 plan for US 81 (I‑35) and Loop 13 (Loop 410) interchange

This proposal seemingly favored traffic headed from the northeast to the west and vice-versa. However, the plans were changed to a design more similar to today's interchange before it was constructed. Note the community of Fratt shown at the lower right side.

(Document courtesy of TxDOT)

More historical photos of I-35 are available here.