 |
San Antonio Area
Freeway System
Interstate 35 South
(South PanAm Freeway) |
|
|
|
This page last updated
July 08, 2010 |
 |
This page covers
Interstate 35 west and south of downtown San Antonio from the
I-10 West interchange to Loop 1604. For information on
I-35 north of downtown, see the
I-35 North page.
Length:
16 miles |
On this page
Overview
With the passage of NAFTA, I-35
South has become an increasingly important spoke in San Antonio's
freeway system. This segment serves the city's southwest side and
continues on Laredo, the busiest US-Mexico border crossing. This
corridor is also an important component in the continuing development of
Port San Antonio.
This segment serves downtown San
Antonio, Market Square, the University of Texas at San Antonio downtown
campus, the San Antonio Produce Market, South Park Mall, Palo Alto
College, and the Toyota assembly plant as well as the cities of Von Ormy
and Somerset. Commercial and industrial development fronts the freeway
near downtown. Residential and some commercial development lines
the corridor south of US 90 to Somerset Rd. Mostly undeveloped land takes
over south of Somerset Rd. to Von Ormy, which lines both sides of I-35 just
north of Loop 1604 and the new Union Pacific intermodal terminal, which
sits on the west side of the freeway just north of Von Ormy.
Roadway details
|
SCHEMATIC |
Click
here for a schematic of I-35
South. |
| |
|
LANES |
- 8 lanes from
I-10 West to Laredo St. with a short double-decked stretch
(4 lanes on the upper levels; 4 lanes on the lower level)
from Guadalupe St. to S. Alamo St.
- 9 lanes (4
southbound,
5 northbound) from Laredo St. to US 90
- 6 lanes from
US 90 to Spur 422/Poteet-Jourdanton Hwy.
- 4 lanes from
Spur 422/Poteet-Jourdanton Hwy. to Loop 1604
|
|
|
ACCESS ROADS |
- No traditional access
roads along most of the route from I-10 West to US 90, although S. Pecos-La Trinidad
and S. Laredo function as access roads along parts of the
route and a short access road exists southbound from San
Marcos St. to Nogalitos.
- Continuous access
roads along most of remainder of route
-
Access roads do not continue through Loop 410 interchange or
over the Medina River
|
|
|
EXITS |
Click
here for a list of
I-35 South exits.
|
| |
|
SPEED LIMITS |
- 60 mph from
I-10 West to Loop 410
- 70 mph
from Loop 410 to Loop 1604
|
|
|
SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
- Double-decked freeway
from just north of S. Alamo to just south of S. Laredo
- TransGuide coverage
from I-10 West to Southcross
- VIA Metropolitan
Transit Madla Transit Center/Park & Ride just
north of Zarzamora
- Northbound left exit to Loop 353
- Two miles of I-10/US
87 concurrent (multiplexed) from I-10 West to US 90
- US 81 was
concurrent (multiplexed)
over I-35 in Bexar County before it was decommissioned south
of Ft. Worth in 1991
|
|
|
TRAFFIC |
Generally heavy from I-10
West to SW Military. Moderate to light volumes south from
there. Regular peak-period congestion can be found
northbound in the morning between Division and Durango and in
the evening southbound
between I-10 West and US 90.
Overall, the corridor has
seen strong traffic growth over the last decade. The
increase in NAFTA-related trucking has contributed significantly
to that growth.
 |
|
|
AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
|
LOCATION |
1990 |
1998 |
2000 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
'98-'08
% CHG |
| S. Laredo St. |
79,000 |
154,000 |
179,000 |
176,000 |
180,000 |
186,000 |
+21% |
| Theo Ave. |
92,000 |
136,000 |
159,000 |
157,000 |
151,000 |
162,000 |
+19% |
| N of SW Military Dr. |
59,000 |
91,000 |
102,000 |
106,000 |
107,000 |
119,000 |
+31% |
| S of SW Military Dr. |
34,000 |
55,000 |
63,000 |
73,000 |
78,000 |
82,000 |
+51% |
| S of Poteet-Jourdenton Hwy. |
18,800 |
27,000 |
34,000 |
41,000 |
42,000 |
49,000 |
+81% |
| N of New Laredo Hwy. |
17,000 |
24,000 |
33,000 |
37,000 |
38,000 |
43,000 |
+79% |
| Fischer Rd. |
21,000 |
30,000 |
35,000 |
42,000 |
40,000 |
39,000 |
+30% |
| Loop 1604 |
|
|
|
|
39,000 |
43,000 |
N/A |
Media gallery
Click
here for photos and video of this freeway.
Construction
projects
- Zarzamora Ave. to Somerset Rd.:
Click here for details on this project.
- Fischer Rd. to Benton City Rd.:
Rebuild access roads and relocate
entrance and exit ramps.
Click
here for the latest status report on these
projects.
Future plans
The MPO's 25-year
plan has proposals for the expansion of I-35 to eight lanes from US 90 to
the Atascosa County line.
A new
expressway (Kelly Parkway) roughly paralleling this section of I-35 is proposed
as part of the Port San Antonio long-range road improvements package. It
would run north from SH 16 near the Toyota plant to US 90 via General Hudnell,
crossing I-35 between Spur 422 and Loop 410.
History
I-35 designation authorized on
October 1, 1959. Named PanAm Freeway because it is supposedly a
segment of the Pan American Highway. Was originally called the
"Southwest Expressway." This freeway is also part of the so-called
NAFTA Superhighway.
The section from S. Alamo to
Nogalitos was completed by 1951. The segment north of that to
present-day I-10 West was completed by 1957. There were two
proposals for the section from Nogalitos to Loop 410, including one that
would have usurped Nogalitos and New Laredo Hwy. The final routing
was approved by 1957 and open to traffic by 1964. The section from
I-10 West to US 90 was expanded in the late '80s. The section from
SW Military to Spur 422 was expanded from four to six lanes around 1989.
TransGuide coverage was added to the section from I-10W to Southcross in
1995. The section from US 90 to SW Military was reconstructed ca.
2009. The reconstruction removed several pedestrian overpasses,
expanded the overpasses and frontages roads, and relocated several
entrance and exit ramps. The section from Zarzamora to Somerset
was reconstructed during the same time frame. That project removed
the previous southbound left-hand exit to SP 422 and the northbound
left-hand exit to Palo Alto Rd., extended the northbound frontage road
through the Spur 422 interchange, and adjusted several roadways and
ramps in the vicinity.
|
Freeway system
