Expansion of U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 looking brighter Proposal without tolls aims to ease congestion.

More than three miles of U.S. 281 north of Loop 1604 could be turned into an expressway under the plan. More than three miles of U.S. 281 north of Loop 1604 could be turned into an expressway under the plan. Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Photo: TOM REEL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Expansion of U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 looking brighter 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A solution to worsening congestion on North U.S. 281 and on Northwest Loop 1604 might finally be in sight, but without tolls.

Sections of both would be widened into expressways, eliminating traffic lights and adding ramps and frontage roads, maybe as early as 2015, if a plan forged by Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff comes together.

Wolff has suggested using San Antonio's share of newly found state transportation money, combined with local dollars, to build 3½ miles of expressway on U.S. 281 from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway and 12½ miles on 1604 between U.S. 90 and Bandera Road.

The corridors' existing “superstreets” would be removed. The superstreets, which cost a combined $13.1 million, expedite traffic flow through the use of synchronized lights and turnarounds. They were designed as temporary congestion solutions.

But Wolff's plan must first clear several hurdles. Local authorities don't know how much of the $2 billion in state money San Antonio will get and whether it will be restricted. They also have to work out how to pull together the local share. The cost to expand portions of the two highways is also unknown.

Still, if the plan works out, no tolls would be required for one of the biggest highway expansion projects in San Antonio in more than two decades.

Wolff will publicly unveil the proposal Monday at a meeting of the San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization, of which he is a member. He will propose a resolution that calls for the MPO to use its share of the extra Texas Department of Transportation money on the 281 and 1604 projects. The resolution also requires creation of an MPO technical committee to come up with a complete funding plan.

Wolff also mentions in the resolution the need to fund future VIA Metropolitan Transit projects, though the expressway projects take priority.

Bottlenecks

Now's the time to pursue expansion because the new TxDOT money “gives us the opportunity to take our portion, attempt to match it with other local, state and federal dollars currently available or available in the next five years, and complete nontoll highway expansions on both 281 and 1604,” Wolff said.

For years, motorists have complained about increasing congestion problems on 281 and 1604, and for years they've been told there's no feasible means to expand them without adding tolls, an issue that has launched fiery debates while the traffic jams continue.

In 2010, the Texas Transportation Institute ranked 1604 between Bandera and FM 471 as the 23rd-most congested road in the state. Ranked 38th was 281 between 1604 and the Comal County line.

Southern interchanges to connect 1604 and 281 are being constructed now. Expansions of both highways are undergoing federal environmental review.

MPO Chairman Tommy Adkisson, who has lobbied against tolls, said he expected to back the resolution Monday.

“I can't imagine how I would not support a nontolled U.S. 281,” Adkisson said.

$146 million, maybe

Though the Texas Transportation Commission hasn't announced how much money it will parcel out to San Antonio and Bexar County, the MPO and the San Antonio TxDOT district are expecting about $146 million, said San Antonio TxDOT district engineer Mario Medina.

The commission likely won't finalize the funding breakdown or any possible restrictions on the money until next month.

The MPO committee that Wolff proposed will look for local funding options.

Those could include future Advanced Transportation District dollars — although not the ATD money already tied to a VIA streetcar project — or public-private partnerships, transportation reinvestment zones or revenues from other toll projects in the future, according to Wolff and Medina.

Both also cited existing funding sources earlier set aside for the projects, including $112 million in Texas Mobility Funds for U.S. 281.

Medina said the MPO and the local TxDOT office hope to have a funding strategy by June or July.

Though the cost of both projects isn't known, other estimates provide ballpark numbers. An expressway with frontage roads on 281 between 1604 and Comal County has been projected to cost $500 million. Expanding 1604 between U.S. 90 and Interstate 35 is estimated at more than $1 billion.

Despite the question marks, Medina said he was “very optimistic.”

“I think something can be done,” he said. “I just don't know exactly what that will be.”

But the plan won't necessarily squash toll roads altogether. Wolff said it's very likely other parts of Loop 1604 might require tolling in the future to meet infrastructure needs.

What's important is getting out in front of the funding process, he said, and indicating to TxDOT the local willingness to partner and a commitment to specific projects.

“It's a much better strategy to say this is how we're going to work with you than to point at an entity, be it at the state or federal level, and say, this is what you owe us,” Wolff said.

vdavila@express-news.net