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San
Antonio Area Freeway System
Interstate 35 North (North PanAm Freeway) |
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This page last updated February 12, 2023 |
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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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On
this page
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
AT&T Center and Freeman Coliseum, Splashtown
water
park, the headquarters for Rackspace and
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.
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There are two interchanges with Loop 410
along this corridor. Loop 410 North intersects with I-35 north of
Walzem and has traditionally been referred to as the "Fratt
Interchange". Loop 410 South intersects south of
Rittiman at the "410 South Cutoff". Loop 410 is concurrent
(multiplexed) with I-35 in between. |
Roadway details
LANES |
- 10 lanes double-decked (6 lanes
on the upper levels; 4 lanes on the lower level) from I-10 West to
I-37/US 281.
- 6 lanes from I-37/US 281 to
Rittiman Rd.
- 8
lanes
from Rittiman Rd. to Loop 410 NE.
- 6 lanes through Loop 410 NE
interchange.
- 8
lanes from Loop 410 NE to Pat Booker Rd.
- 6
lanes from Pat Booker Rd. to Forum Pkwy.
- 8
lanes from Forum Pkwy. to FM 3009.
- 6 lanes from FM 3009 to FM 482.
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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.
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EXITS |
Click here
for a list of I-35 North exits. |
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SPEED LIMITS |
- 60
mph from I-10 West to Loop 410 North (Fratt Interchange.)
- 65 mph from Loop 410 North to
Forum Pkwy.
- 70 mph from Forum Pkwy to FM
482.
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
- 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)
- Olympia Pkwy. (southbound side)
- Evans Rd. (under freeway)
- Four miles of Loop 410 concurrent
(multiplexed) from 410 South Cutoff to Fratt Interchange.
- US 81 was concurrent (multiplexed) over
I-35 in Bexar County before it was decommissioned south of Ft. Worth in
1991.
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TRAFFIC |
Heavy to extremely heavy along entire
route.
This route experiences significant recurring
bi-directional morning and evening congestion thoughout most of the
corridor.

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AVERAGE
ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
LOCATION |
2001 |
2011 |
2016 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
'11-'21
% CHG |
N of FM 2252 |
74,000 |
124,000 |
142,678 |
117,327 |
102,234 |
142,456 |
+14.88% |
N of Cibolo Valley Dr. |
79,000 |
123,000 |
144,784 |
126,373 |
110,535 |
151,947 |
+23.53% |
S of FM 3009 |
98,000 |
172,000 |
175,832 |
148,484 |
131,018 |
182,384 |
+6.04% |
Bexar/Guadalupe line |
109,000 |
184,000 |
188,025 |
171,758 |
151,230 |
217,401 |
+18.15% |
S of Loop 1604 |
107,000 |
174,000 |
199,886 |
183,775 |
155,797 |
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N/A |
N of O'Connor Rd. |
146,000 |
206,000 |
212,692 |
232,237 |
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236,781 |
+14.94% |
S of Thousand Oaks |
174,000 |
222,000 |
233,278 |
235,528 |
205,290 |
243,909 |
+9.87% |
N of Walzem Rd. |
165,000 |
204,000 |
202,556 |
202,221 |
174,649 |
218,126 |
+6.92% |
S of Walzem Rd. |
164,000 |
197,000 |
194,518 |
212,846 |
186,900 |
183,715 |
-6.74% |
S of Rittiman Rd. |
171,000 |
202,000 |
190,907 |
204,463 |
176,165 |
175,867 |
-12.94% |
N of George Beach Ave. |
109,000 |
126,000 |
124,373 |
124,240 |
107,231 |
101,569 |
-19.39% |
N of Salado Creek |
130,000 |
148,000 |
147,739 |
143,756 |
125,055 |
151,727 |
+2.52% |
W of New Braunfels Ave. |
158,000 |
168,000 |
171,940 |
175,710 |
152,421 |
183,377 |
+9.15% |
N of McCullough Ave. |
184,000 |
202,000 |
202,232 |
196,852 |
172,194 |
184,530 |
-8.65% |
(NOTE:
In 2021, TxDOT changed the location of several traffic counting
stations. New stations will show no history prior to 2021, and
discontinued stations will show no history for 2021.)
Media
gallery
Click
here
for photos and video of this
freeway.
Construction projects
No
current projects in this
corridor.
Future plans
A
Major Investment Study
(MIS) of the corridor conducted in 1996 by TxDOT and the Metropolitan
Planning
Organization (MPO) recommended the addition of barrier-separated
express,
truck,
and/or HOV lanes to this freeway. In addition, a "Basic
Improvements Package"
was also recommended including signal improvements, better signage,
ramp
modifications, expansion of the TransGuide system, addition of
pedestrian
facilities and bicycle routes, improved bus service, and operational
improvements to both Loop 410 interchanges and the Loop 1604
interchange. The
signal, signage, and TransGuide improvements were
completed. The
express/truck/HOV lanes had been proposed as a toll project but
now will be built as non-toll lanes (see below.)
In
October 2011, the city
of San Antonio received federal funding as part of a program to assist
communities impacted by military base expansions. The project
selected for
funding was the conversion of the southbound I-35 left exit to Loop 410
to a
right-hand exit. That project began in 2014
in conjunction
with an expansion of I-35 between Loop 410 NE and Loop 410 South and
was completed in mid 2018.
In
late 2011, TxDOT and
the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority began work on a new long-range
plan for
the I-35 corridor from downtown to FM 1103 including Loop 410 near
Kirby. Public meetings to solicit input were held in November 2011 and
again
during
2012. The resulting project called for the addition of four elevated
tolled/managed lanes (i.e. two in each direction.) In the wake of new
funding from the legislature and a deprecation of tolling, this project
was modified in mid 2018 to drop the
tolling component and instead add four elevated express lanes (i.e. two
in each direction) and two
elevated HOV lanes (i.e. one in each direction.) The project will
likely
be done in two phases with the
first phase, from Walters to the county line, possibly starting
construction in 2021. A
fully-directional
"stack" interchange at Loop
1604 was previously proposed as part of the Loop 1604 managed lanes project,
but now connectors to the new elevated lanes from Loop 1604 are planned
as part of the I-35 project.
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 Broadway to I-10 (and on 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 AT&T Center Pkwy. to
Rittiman Rd. was opened.
- May
1962: The section from Broadway
to AT&T Center Pkwy. 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 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.
- Early
2000: TransGuide coverage added to the section from New
Braunfels Ave.
to Walzem Rd.
- August
2000: TransGuide coverage extended from Walzem Rd. to
Starlight Terrace.
- April
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 Loop 410 North and the Loop 410 South Cutoff was
widened
from six to eight lanes and the Loop 410 South Cutoff interchange was
reconfigured. New Braunfels Ave. overpass rebuilt.

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
In the distance, you can see traffic is shifted
to the left
access road as the freeway south of here was still under
construction (but very close to completion) at this time.
(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)
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