San
Antonio Area Freeway System
PROJECT
INFO:
Loop 1604 from I-35 to FM 78 |
|
This
page last updated January 15, 2023 |
Location Loop
1604 from I-35 to FM 78
Status Complete
Timeline Construction started in late 2018 and is complete.
Description This project upgraded Loop
1604 at this location from a partial freeway to a full
freeway. This included adding access roads between Kitty Hawk
and FM 1976 and extending the existing truncated northbound access road
between Kitty Hawk and Palisades; these new access roads disconnected
the six "right-on, right-off" intersections along those
stretches from the mainlanes and connected them to the new access roads instead. The new access roads are "stubbed" for a future extension
of them over the railroad
tracks at FM 1976/FM 78. The addition of the access roads
eliminated the southbound entrance from and northbound exit to FM
1976; motorists in both cases have to travel to Kitty Hawk and
turnaround there. The project also reconfigured entrance and exit ramps,
added auxiliary lanes between ramps near Pat Booker, and reconstrucedt the Pat Booker overpass. (The widening of the Kitty Hawk overpass was included in early proposals but dropped from the final plan.) The mainlanes between Pat Booker and Kitty Hawk were
reconstructed and shifted toward each other in the median with a
concrete barrier built to separate them.
How
this
project will help Traffic is increasing on this stretch of
Loop 1604 and the "right-on, right-off" intersections pose safety
issues for through traffic on 1604. These intersections have
been moved to the new access roads. The addition of auxiliary
lanes will help improve traffic flow and safety and the reconfiguration of the
ramps brought this section in line with current design standards. Furthermore, future plans are to upgrade Loop 1604
south of FM 78 to a freeway, so upgrading this transitional section was a
necessary precursor.
FAQ - Why was the NB exit to FM 1976 and SB entrance from FM 1976 be removed?
The
"jug-handle" ramps there are obsolete and too dangerous for the
expected traffic volumes in the area. The traffic counts for
those movements were likely too low to warrant replacing those ramps.
- How will traffic that used to use the "jug-handle" ramps get to/from FM 1976?
In
both cases, that traffic will need to go north to Kitty Hawk and use
the turnaround or find alternate routes on other nearby roadways.
Schematic Below is the detailed schematic for this
project from TxDOT with my own annotations added to help clarify and
explain the various elements. Click on the image below
to open the schematic in a new window that you can scroll and zoom. Note
that the schematics used here were preliminary; the final plans included some minor changes that are
noted in the annotations.
(Note: the
schematic
below is somewhat large and may take a few seconds to open.)

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