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San Antonio Area
Freeway System
Interstate 35 North
(North PanAm Freeway) |
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This page last updated
July 08, 2010 |
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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:
21 miles |
On this page
Overview
This freeway serves the northeast
corridor and provides access to Fort Sam Houston and Brooke Army Medical
Center, Splashtown water park,
the AT&T Center and Freeman Coliseum, Rackspace headquarters,
Morgan's Wonderland, the STAR soccer complex, Heros Stadium, Randolph AFB, Retama Park racetrack, the Forum shopping
center, 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 and is part of the so-called "NAFTA Superhighway".
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There are two interchanges with
Loop 410 along this corridor. Loop 410 North intersects north of
Walzem at the Fratt Interchange, and Loop 410 South intersects south of
Rittiman at the BAMC Interchange, also known as the "410 South Cutoff".
Loop 410 is concurrent (multiplexed) with I-35 in between. |
Roadway details
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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 Loop 410 North (Fratt Interchange)
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8 lanes from Loop 410
North to Pat Booker (SH 218)
- 6 lanes from
Pat Booker 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 I-37/US 281 except:
- Northbound access road does
not continue through Loop 410 South (BAMC) interchange or
Loop 1604 interchange.
- Northbound access road
through-traffic requires a left turn at Binz-Engleman Rd. and
at Randolph Blvd.
- Southbound access
road through-traffic requires two left turns at Loop 1604.
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Southbound access road becomes Casa Blanca St. approaching
US 281 and continues to Elmira St. via Newell Ave.
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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
- Southbound
left exit
to southbound
Loop 410 at BAMC Interchange
- VIA Metropolitan
Transit Randolph Park & Ride located adjacent to Fratt
Interchange
- Carpool parking 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 BAMC Interchange 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 |
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Heavy to
extremely heavy along entire route. The third through
sixth busiest freeway segments in the city are located in this
corridor with the segment at Rittiman being the busiest in the
corridor.
Chronic congestion
occurs on the southbound approach
to Loop 1604, as well as on the approach Loop 410 South (410
South Cutoff) due to a left-hand exit.
Regular morning and afternoon peak-period congestion can be
found between
O'Connor and Rittiman. Additional afternoon peak period
congestion occurs northbound approaching I-37/US 281, from Splashtown to
Rittiman, and from Loop 1604 to Schertz Pkwy.
Over the past decade,
the northern half of the corridor has seen strong traffic
growth. Traffic counts downtown have
increased substantially as well.
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AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
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LOCATION |
1990 |
1998 |
2000 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
'98-'08
% CHG |
| Guadalupe Co. line |
53,000 |
82,000 |
105,000 |
143,000 |
139,000 |
139,000 |
+70% |
| Pat Booker Rd. |
58,000 |
89,000 |
107,000 |
162,000 |
155,000 |
148,000 |
+66% |
| O'Connor Rd. |
98,000 |
129,000 |
141,000 |
193,000 |
186,000 |
181,000 |
+40% |
| Thousand Oaks |
120,000 |
157,000 |
169,000 |
214,000 |
210,000 |
198,000 |
+26% |
| N of Walzem Rd. |
111,000 |
144,000 |
161,000 |
184,000 |
184,000 |
198,000 |
+38% |
| S of Walzem Rd. |
115,000 |
147,000 |
162,000 |
178,000 |
179,000 |
194,000 |
+32% |
| S of Rittiman Rd. |
127,000 |
156,000 |
169,000 |
188,000 |
185,000 |
207,000 |
+33% |
| Binz-Engelmann Rd. |
75,000 |
93,000 |
108,000 |
111,000 |
113,000 |
132,000 |
+42% |
| Salado Creek |
95,000 |
120,000 |
131,000 |
141,000 |
137,000 |
154,000 |
+28% |
| N. New Braunfels Ave. |
111,000 |
141,000 |
158,000 |
160,000 |
158,000 |
174,000 |
+23% |
| McCullough Ave. |
90,000 |
169,000 |
190,000 |
187,000 |
195,000 |
203,000 |
+20% |
Media gallery
Click
here for photos and video of this freeway.
Construction
projects
- New
Braunfels Ave. to AT&T Center Parkway: Click
here for details on this project.
Click
here for the latest status report on these
projects.
Future plans
A Major Investment Study (MIS) of the
corridor conducted in 1996 for the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
suggested 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 have already been completed
as have the operational improvements southbound at the Loop 410 South (BAMC)
interchange. No timetable has been
announced for the express/truck/HOV lanes or interchange improvements, although
these lanes have are now proposed as a possible
toll project. A
fully-directional "stack" interchange is proposed at Loop 1604 as part of the
Loop 1604 tollway project.
History
I-35 designation authorized on
October 1, 1959. Named PanAm Freeway because it is the US
extension of a
segment of the Pan American Highway. Was originally called the
"Northeast Expressway."
The first section of this route,
from present-day I-10 West to Broadway, was completed by 1957. By
1961, it had been extended to Artesia Rd. (now AT&T Center Parkway), and the
section north of Fratt was also open. The remainder of I-35 North was
completed by 1964. The section from Loop 410 North (Fratt
Interchange) to Loop 1604 was expanded from four to eight lanes in the
early '80s and the Fratt interchange was rebuilt. The section from I-10 West to I-37/US 281 was
double-decked in the late '80s. The section from Loop 1604 to FM
3009 was widened from four to six lanes during the early '90s, and the
segment between FM 3009 and FM 482 was widened from four to six lanes in
1999. TransGuide coverage was added to the section from I-10 West
to New Braunfels Ave. in 1995, from New Braunfels Ave. to Walzem in
early 2000, from Walzem to Starlight Terrace in August 2000, from
Starlight Terrace to the Guadalupe County line in April 2003, and from
the Guadalupe County line to Austin in 2008. The Loop 410 South
Cutoff (BAMC Interchange) was improved in 2009.
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