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San
Antonio Area Freeway System
Wurzbach Parkway |
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This page last updated February 12, 2023 |
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This page covers the Wurzbach Parkway in North San
Antonio.
Length: 12
miles
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On
this page
Overview
The
Wurzbach Parkway
is an east-west "super-arterial" across northern San Antonio
connecting
I-10 to I-35. Prior to
its completion, there were no true east-west arterials between Loop 410
and Loop 1604 across the North Side. As a result, Loop 410, Loop 1604,
and many of the
zig-zagged arterials in the area were overburdened trying to facilitate
shorter-distance east-west traffic. Wurzbach Parkway was built to
facilitate many of those
shorter east-west trips across the North Side, although it can
and often is used
for longer through-traffic journeys.
The
parkway
was developed
under the now-retired Principal
Arterial Street System (PASS) program and carries a TxDOT
route number
of PA 1502. Prior to 2014, this route number was
not signed, and seems to be the only PASS route in the state
to be signed as such. (Technically, the "PA" in the
route number is
short
for Principal Arterial, not Parkway, although that also works.)
The
route passes through
a variety of urban land uses. The eastern end of the route
passes through a
light commercial and industrial area before entering the former
Longhorn
Quarry, which was redeveloped as an entertainment district with an
amusement park,
high school football stadium, and soccer complex including the home
stadium for
San Antonio's professional team. The parkway then passes
through the
commercial,
residential, and light industrial areas around Perrin-Beitel and
Nacogdoches
Roads before passing over an active quarry near Wetmore Rd. Continuing
west,
the parkway passes through mostly undeveloped land and
parkland near the
airport
before passing into a light industrial and commercial area. Approaching
US 281, the parkway passes over the wooded Salado
Creek for a short distance. West of US 281, the route
continues
through a mostly undeveloped
area before passing over a flood control basin. Near Blanco Rd.,
the route traverses residential areas before bisecting Hardberger
Park where a land bridge connecting the two sides of the park
opened in late 2020. Commercial and residential
development
line the route at the far western end where it merges into the
pre-existing Wurzbach Road.

Artist
rendering of Hardberger Park land bridge over Wurzbach Pkwy.
Roadway details
The
parkway features four
and six lanes with a concrete
divider. Along the original sections, a raised island
separated the
opposing flows; the concrete divider was added atop the island in 2010
after a
series of head-on crashes. (A safety improvement project now underway
will remove the raised island, leaving just the concrete divider.)
Access
to
local streets and
driveways is
limited and there are overpasses at most major
intersections. While it has the general
appearance and function of a narrow freeway, the
route is technically
classified as a "super-arterial" rather than a freeway and, as such,
the road
is a hybrid between a major arterial street and minor
expressway.
The
parkway has
overpasses and interchanges at Blanco Rd., West Ave., US 281,
Jones-Maltsberger Rd., Starcrest Dr., Wetmore Rd., Nacogdoches Rd.,
Perrin-Beitel Rd., and Thousand Oaks Dr. The interchange at
Wetmore Rd. is a partial
cloverleaf while the others
are conventional diamond interchanges. There
are no continuous access roads along the route except for
the segment between
US 281 and West Ave. There are several
"right-in, right-out" intersections along the route: eastbound at Alon
Loop, Vista Del Norte Dr., Bitters Recycling Center, Heroes
Stadium/Tool Yard, and Tech Com Dr.; and westbound at Heros Stadium,
McAllister Park, Vista Del Norte Dr., Bluffton Oaks, and Inverness
Blvd.
While
most of the
parkway is controlled-access, the eastern and western
ends each have two at-grade, signalized intersections; these are
intended to
provide a controlled transition from quasi-freeway conditions to the
signalized
surface roadways that the parkway connects to on either end. At the
far eastern end, the parkway crosses
Weidner Rd. at a
signalized, at-grade intersection and then ends at a signalized
intersection
where it merges with the pre-existing O'Connor Rd. Through
traffic can then
continue east on
O'Connor the short distance to I-35. The
western end meets NW Military Hwy. and Lockhill-Selma Rd. at
signalized, at-grade
intersections before tying-into the pre-existing Wurzbach
Rd. where through traffic can continue west to
I-10 and
beyond. Improvements were
made to that
section of Wurzbach to support the anticipated increases in traffic
from the
completed parkway, and additional improvements are being considered.
Much
of the parkway has a designated bike lane in each direction. The
section between Lockhill-Selma Rd. and NW
Military Hwy. previously had a
landscaped and lighted (but weirdly truncated and therefore virtually
unused) pedestrian trail in the median that has now been removed as
part of
an intersection improvement project in that area. Part of the
Salado Creek Greenway passes under or alongside of the parkway between
US 281 and Starcrest Dr. There are several noise-abatement walls along
the
route.
There
are currently no direct connectors to US 281. Instead,
traffic destined to US 281 exits the parkway and uses the US 281 access
roads. Traffic wanting to make a "left turn" from the parkway
onto US 281 instead turns right onto the US 281 access road, then makes
a
U-turn at the next downstream turnaround (Bitters Rd. or Nakoma Dr.)
Initial plans considered two possible interchange designs
including an elevated roundabout or a mixed flyover and
cloverleaf interchange, but funding limitations, traffic projections,
and additional
restrictions caused by the proximity to San Antonio International
Airport's runways caused those plans to be shelved. TxDOT has
indicated they may study an interchange again if future traffic volumes
warrant.
EXITS |
EASTBOUND (from Lockhill-Selma):
- Alon Loop (right-in/right-out)
- Alon Market driveways (two right-in/right-outs)
- FM 1535/NW Military Hwy (signalized
intersection)
- Barshop Jewish Community Center (right-in/right-out)
- FM 2696/Blanco Rd
- Vista Del Norte Dr (right-in/right-out)
- West Ave
- US 281
- Jones-Maltsberger Rd
- Bitters Recycling Center (right-in/right-out)
- Starcrest Dr
- Wetmore Rd
- Nacogdoches Rd
- FM 2252/Perrin-Beitel Rd
- Heros Stadium/Tool Yard (right-in/right-out)
- Thousand Oaks Dr
- Turnaround
- Weidner Rd (signalized
intersection)
- Tech Com Dr (right-in/right-out)
- Parkway ends at O'Connor Rd/Crosswinds Way
(signalized intersection)
WESTBOUND (from
O'Connor/Crosswinds):
- Weidner Rd (signalized
intersection)
- Thousand Oaks Dr
- Heros Stadium (right-in/right-out)
- FM 2252/Perrin-Beitel Rd
- Nacogdoches Rd
- Wetmore Rd
- McAllister Park (right-in/right-out)
- Starcrest Dr
- Jones-Maltsberger Rd
- US 281
- West Ave
- Vista Del Norte Dr (right-in/right-out)
- FM 2696/Blanco Rd (signalized
intersection)
- Bluffton Oaks (right-in/right-out)
- FM 1535/NW Military Hwy (signalized
intersection)
- Inverness Blvd (right-in/right-out)
- Parkway ends at Lockhill-Selma and becomes
Wurzbach Rd (signalized
intersection)
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SPEED LIMITS |
60 mph between
Blanco Rd. and Weidner Rd.
- 50 mph between
NW Military Hwy. and Blanco Rd.
- 45 mph east of Weidner Rd. and
west
of NW Military Hwy.
After
completion, sections were initially signed at 45 mph because
of
TxDOT engineering policies for roadways that include curbs, sidewalks,
and bike lanes. Speed studies were subsequently
performed and supported an increase to the current limits.
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
Multiple "right-in/right-out"
turnoffs
- No
directional interchange at US 281. Instead, traffic exits
and makes a right turn to the US 281 access roads.
- Bike lanes westbound
from Perrin-Beitel Rd. to Jones-Maltsberger Rd. and from West
Ave. to
Lockhill-Selma Rd.; eastbound from Lockhill-Selma Rd. to Blanco Rd.,
along
Vista Del Norte Dr.
from Blanco Rd. back to Wurzbach Parkway, then from Vista Del Norte Dr.
to West
Ave. and from Starcrest Dr. to Perrin-Beitel Rd.
- Salado Creek Greenway hike/bike
trail
runs adjacent to eastbound
parkway between Jones-Maltsberger Rd. and
Starcrest Dr. Trail also passes under the parkway at three locations:
at US 281, west of Jones-Maltsberger, and east of Starcrest.
- Sidewalk
adjacent to westbound parkway between Wetmore Rd. and Starcrest Dr.
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TRAFFIC |
 With the completion of the middle segment of the
parkway in 2015, traffic counts have increased substantially throughout
the corridor over the past decade.
Peak
period recurring congestion occurs on each end of the corridor during
the afternoon peak period: westbound approaching NW Military Hwy., and
eastbound approaching O'Connor Rd. |
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AVERAGE
ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
LOCATION |
2001 |
2011 |
2016 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
'11-'21
% CHG |
E of Weidner Rd. |
5,900 |
15,400 |
24,153 |
25,332 |
19,000 |
20,168 |
+30.96% |
E of Perrin-Beitel Rd. |
16,700 |
23,000 |
39,036 |
53,821 |
40,916 |
38,522 |
+67.49% |
E of Wetmore Rd. |
22,000 |
25,000 |
39,829 |
49,197 |
36,898 |
37,636 |
+50.54% |
E of Starcrest Blvd. |
27,000 |
25,000 |
43,558 |
52,790 |
39,593 |
40,385 |
+61.54% |
E of US 281N |
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44,542 |
33,407 |
34,075 |
N/A |
W of US 281N |
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53,403 |
N/A |
W of West Ave. |
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47,117 |
35,338 |
42,004 |
N/A |
E of NW Military Hwy. |
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40,741 |
23,114 |
20,715 |
N/A |
(NOTE:
With the completion of the parkway west of US 281, TxDOT has been
adding new counter locations there.)
Media
gallery
Click
here
for video of this
freeway.
Construction projects
- NW
Military Hwy. to O'Connor Rd.: This
safety project will remove the existing raised center island and
portable center barrier where it currently exists
and replace them with a permanent concrete barrier flush with the
pavement. The project will also improve
drainage, improve the pavement to reduce skidding, upgrade crash
barriers and guardrails, install wrong-way driver deterrence and
detection systems, upgrade or
replace illumination and signage, and install TransGuide cameras and a
couple of dynamic message signs.
Future plans
TxDOT
and the City of San Antonio are studying additional improvements along
Wurzbach Rd. from
the western end of the parkway to I-10.
History
This
route was originally
proposed in the late '80s as the aptly-named "East-West Parkway" and
was
eventually named Wurzbach Parkway because it connects to Wurzbach Road
in
northwestern San Antonio. William
Wurzbach
owned a ranch around what is now I-10 and Wurzbach; the road
he built through his property was eventually deeded to the
county and named for him. Wurzbach
also served as a county judge and county attorney.
The
original sections of the parkway were designed and posted for a 45 mph
speed limit. After
public
complaints about this being too low, a speed study was conducted and
the speed limit subsequently raised on the
original segments to 60 mph ca. 2000. When
the final segments were opened in 2014 and 2015, they,
too, were
posted at 45 mph as per design policies. A speed study
conducted shortly after the
final
section opened supported an increase to 60 mph and signs were changed
on November 4th, 2015.
The
first sections of the parkway only had a raised center island between
the opposing traffic. After
a spate of head-on
collisions caused by drivers jumping the island, a
concrete
center
barrier was installed in early 2010 between Wetmore Rd. and
Weidner Rd. Sections
of the parkway
built thereafter included a center barrier instead of raised island.
1996: The first
section, from Wetmore Rd. to Nacogdoches Rd., completed.
- September 1999: The
segment from Nacogdoches Rd. to O'Connor Rd. completed.
- March 2000: The
section between Lockhill-Selma Rd. and NW Military Hwy. completed.
- July 2002: The
segment from NW Military Hwy. to Blanco Rd. completed. Further work
stalled due to a statewide funding shortage.
- 2007: The
missing section of the parkway
from Wetmore Rd. to Blanco Rd. and an interchange at US 281 was
considered for a
possible tollway project;
however it was
determined that this was not feasible.
- Late 2009: The Texas
Transportation
Commission allocates funding to complete the missing middle
section.
- January 2014: The
segment from Blanco Rd. to West
Ave. opens although a pavement issue delays the opening of the
overpass at
Blanco Rd. until April.
- April 2015: The
section from Starcrest Dr. to
Jones-Maltsberger Rd. completed.
- September 2015: The
final segment, from
West Ave. to Jones-Maltsberger Rd., opened to traffic.
- October 2022: The
intersection at NW Military Hwy. was reconfigured and the section from
there to Lockhill-Selma Rd. was widened.

Proposed
Wurzbach Parkway sign on West Ave. ca. 2001
(Photo
by Brian Purcell)

Wurzbach Parkway construction
near NW Military Hwy. looking southwest ca. 1999
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

Various alignments studied for
Wurzbach Parkway
(Document courtesy of TxDOT)
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