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San Antonio Area Freeway System
Interstate 10 West
(Robert F. McDermott Freeway)

This page last updated February 29, 2024

I-10 West highlight map
I-10 West highlight map

This page covers Interstate 10 northwest of downtown San Antonio from I‑35 to Ralph Fair Rd. Two miles of I‑10 is concurrent (multiplexed) with I‑35 south of this segment; see the I‑35 South page for details. Interstate 10 continues east of downtown; see the I‑10 East page for more info.

Length: 16 miles



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On this page:

Overview Roadway
details
Lanes Access
roads
       
Exits Speed
limits
Special features
and notes
Traffic
       
Media
gallery
Construction
projects
Future
plans
History
       

Overview

This segment of I‑10 serves the northwest corridor, one of the fastest growing areas of the city. A tremendous amount of the region's suburban office space is located in this corridor as are the headquarters for several large companies. The corridor also serves the bustling and continually-growing South Texas Medical Center district; Wonderland of the Americas mall (formerly known as Crossroads mall); the University of Texas at San Antonio's (UTSA) main and downtown campuses; Six Flags Fiesta Texas; Joint Base San Antonio Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley; and The Rim, La Cantera, Landmark, Colonnade, Huebner Oaks, and Fiesta Trails retail centers and mixed-use developments.

One suburban city, Balcones Heights, also lies within the corridor as does the unincorporated Leon Springs area. I‑10 continues northward to the booming outlying areas of Fair Oaks Ranch, Boerne, and Kendall County.

Inside Loop 410, the route is lined with light industrial and residential areas. Heavy commercial development dominates the landscape between Loop 410 and La Cantera Blvd., with moderate and growing commercial and residential development north of there all the way to Boerne.

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While it is signed as east/west, this segment actually runs mostly north/south. To avoid confusion, many locals give directions as "inbound" or "outbound" (from downtown) instead; I use that convention here.



Roadway details

LANES
I-10 West lanes map
  • 10 lanes double-decked (6 lanes on the upper levels; 4 lanes on the lower level) between I‑35/Frio St. and Fulton Ave.
  • 10 lanes between Fulton Ave. and Loop 410 with a short 8 lane section through the Loop 410 interchange
  • 11 lanes (5 inbound, 6 outbound) between Loop 410 and Wurzbach Rd.
  • 8 lanes between Wurzbach Rd. and Huebner Rd.
  • 9 lanes (5 inbound, 4 outbound) between Huebner Rd. and Loop 1604
  • 6 lanes between Loop 1604 and Ralph Fair Rd.

  • 2 HOV lanes (one each direction) between La Cantera Blvd. and Ralph Fair Rd.
I-10 West lanes map
   
ACCESS ROADS
I-10 West access roads map
  • Continuous access roads from I‑35 to Frio St.
  • No continuous access roads from Frio St. to Woodlawn Ave., except on the inbound side between Culebra Ave. and Woodlawn Ave.
  • Continuous access roads along remainder of route north of Woodlawn Ave.
  • Westbound access road splits in Leon Springs — the west leg continues along the freeway and ends at Boerne Stage Rd., while the east leg passes through Leon Springs and then continues northward to Ralph Fair Rd.
  • Access road intersection bypass at Medical Dr. (both directions)
I-10 West access roads map
   
EXITS

Click here for a list of I‑10 West exits.
 
 
SPEED LIMITS
I-10 West speed limit map
  • 60 mph between I‑35 and Fulton St.
  • 65 mph between Fulton and La Cantera Blvd.
  • 70 mph between La Cantera Blvd. and Ralph Fair Rd.
I-10 West speed limit map
   
SPECIAL FEATURES AND NOTES
I-10 West special features map
  • concurrent (multiplexed) along entire route
  • Double-decked from Frio St. to Hildebrand Ave.
  • TransGuide coverage along entire route
  • Left exit to I‑35 northbound
  • VIA Metropolitan Transit Park & Ride locations:
    • Crossroads: Crossroads Blvd.
    • University: Loop 1604 (under interchange)
  • Carpool parking ("Park & Pool") lot between Boerne Stage Rd. and Ralph Fair Rd. (westbound side)
  • Special double-height bridge rail barrier on ramp to I‑35 northbound
  • Unusual yield sign arrangement at Loop 1604 interchange (click here for more information)
  • Two waterways run longitudinally below the freeway:
    • San Pedro Creek between Frio St. and I‑35
    • Martinez Creek between West Ave and Fresno Ave.
I-10 West special features map
   
TRAFFIC
I-10 West traffic map

Heavy to extremely heavy along entire route.

Regular morning and afternoon peak-period congestion occurs on the approaches to Loop 410 and I‑35. A recent development is recurring congestion on the approaches to Loop 1604; inbound in the morning, and outbound in the evening.


Traffic volume legend
I-10 West traffic map
   
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC
LOCATION 2002 2012 2017 2019 2021 2022 '12-'22
% CHG
W of I‑35           196,369 N/A
W of Frio St. 160,000 195,000 186,907 187,306 178,837 187,233 -3.98%
S of Hildebrand Ave.         179,420 193,828 N/A
S of Crossroads Blvd. 154,000 212,000 205,971 206,072 219,228 216,551 +2.15%
N of Callaghan Rd. 173,000 223,000 241,428 241,130 237,094 253,181 +13.53%
N of Huebner Rd. 133,000 211,000 184,794 182,384 183,673 205,973 -2.38%
N of DeZavala Rd. 159,000 226,000 204,596 199,029 202,353 208,179 -7.89%
N of UTSA Blvd. 111,000 177,000 158,415 156,092 183,419 183,748 +3.81%
N of Loop 1604W 71,000 121,000 117,410 121,393 150,152 154,479 +27.67%
N of Dominion Dr. 58,000 83,000 93,140 98,299 131,740 136,247 +64.15%
N of FM 3351 45,000 56,000 66,205 80,745 81,446 84,329 +50.59%

(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 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

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


Future plans

TxDOT plans to add one general purpose lane and one HOV lane in each direction from Ralph Fair Rd. to Boerne. There is currently no funding or timeline for that expansion.


History

The section from Culebra Ave. to Fredericksburg Rd. at Woodlawn Ave. was San Antonio's first expressway.

Most of the route from just north of Huebner Rd. to Leon Springs was part of the original route of US 87 and its predecessors US 290, US 385, SH 9, and SH 27. The short section of Old Fredericksburg 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 of I‑10 today north of Leon Springs was also built in 1934 as part of the Arneson Plan; prior to that, the state routes followed Boerne Stage Rd.

The first freeway sections to be built were simply called "US 87 Expressway". It was briefly called the "North Expressway" before being named the "Northwest Expressway" when planning began for the US 281 "North Expressway". The designation as I‑10 was authorized on October 1, 1959. The route was renamed as "McDermott Freeway" ca. 1995 for Robert F. McDermott, the former CEO of the USAA financial services corporation whose headquarters are located adjacent to the freeway south of Huebner Rd.

I-10 West history map
I-10 West history map
I-10 at Woodlawn Ave. looking north in 1949

I‑10 at Woodlawn Ave. looking north in 1949
The freeway ended here and curved up to Fredericksburg Rd.
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

I-10 at Frio St. looking southeast in 1950

I‑10 at Frio St. looking southeast in 1950
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

Snippet of 1953 plan for routing of US 87 (I-10) in the vicinity Loop 13 (Loop 410)

Snippet of 1953 plan for routing of US 87 (I‑10) in the vicinity Loop 13 (Loop 410)
Note the location of the planned US 87/Loop 13 interchange between Vance-Jackson Rd. and Jackson-Keller Rd.
(Document courtesy of TxDOT)

More historical photos of I-10 are available here.