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San Antonio Area
Freeway System
State
Loop 1604
(Charles W. Anderson
Loop) |
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This page last updated
August 15, 2011 |
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This page covers the
freeway segment of Loop 1604 across North San Antonio from FM 78
in Converse to Braun Rd. The remainder of the 95 mile
loop is non-freeway, most of which is a two-lane rural road.
Length:
27 miles |
On this page:
Description
When it was built in the
1960s, nobody ever believed that Loop 1604 North would become the busy
beltline that it is today. While the southern half remains in its
original configuration as a two lane rural state highway, most of the
northern arc has been expanded to a four lane freeway. Loop 1604
forms the outer of San Antonio's two beltways and the freeway portion serves
Randolph AFB, Rolling Oaks Mall, the Stone Oak development, Camp Bullis,
the University of Texas at San Antonio's (UTSA) main campus, Six Flags Fiesta Texas,
the Shops at La Cantera and the La Cantera development, Valero Energy's headquarters
campus, and the suburbs of Converse, Universal City, Live Oak, Hollywood
Park, Shavano Park, and Helotes. The corridor runs
through increasingly dense suburban residential areas with some moderate
to heavy commercial development, especially near I-35, US 281, I-10, and
Bandera Rd.
There is no fully directional
interchange at US 281. Motorists must use access roads and a
signalized 3-level interchange to access US 281. Work to construct
the first four ramps of a directional interchange is expected to begin
in late 2010. Modified
cloverleaf interchanges exist at I-10 and I-35.
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Loop 1604 is sometimes mistakenly
referred to as FM 1604. However, it is indeed Loop 1604; FM
1604 is in North Texas. (See the History section below for more
info.) |
Roadway details
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LANES |
- 4 lanes
along entire route
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ACCESS ROADS |
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- Continuous
access roads along all of route except:
- East of Pat Booker except for a short section of
access road southbound from Pat Booker to Kitty Hawk
- At I-35
- At the railroad
tracks
between Nacogdoches and Green Mountain
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EXITS |
Click
here for a list of
Loop 1604 exits
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SPEED LIMITS |
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- 70 mph from
Nacogdoches to Bandera Rd.
- 65 mph from
Pat Booker to Nacogdoches
- 55 mph from FM
78 to Pat Booker
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
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- TransGuide coverage
from Lockhill-Selma to Bandera Rd.
- Five at-grade
turnoffs with no median crossover in Universal City
- No directional
interchange at US 281
- VIA Metropolitan
Transit University Park & Ride located under I-10
interchange
- Carpool parking area
on northbound ramp to/from FM 78
- Unusual yield
sign arrangement at I-10 interchange; click
here for more information
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TRAFFIC |
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Loop 1604 has experienced
ridiculously blistering traffic growth since 1990 with average AADT counts up
well over 300% along nearly the entire route, and up nearly 800%
near Bandera Rd. Overall, volume is moderate to heavy
along entire route. The section between I-10 and US 281 now exceeds
100,000 vehicles per day, up from a paltry 25,000 in 1990. Recurring congestion
occurs during morning and evening peak periods between Bandera
Rd. and US 281. |
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AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
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Location |
1990 |
1998 |
2000 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
'98-'08
CHG |
| E of FM 78 |
9,400 |
17,200 |
21,000 |
27,000 |
30,000 |
30,000 |
+74% |
| W of FM 78 |
18,300 |
34,000 |
38,000 |
27,000 |
28,000 |
57,000 |
+68% |
| Pat Booker Rd. |
19,800 |
41,000 |
53,000 |
73,000 |
72,000 |
75,000 |
+83% |
| Lookout Rd. |
21,000 |
53,000 |
61,000 |
82,000 |
85,000 |
100,000 |
+89% |
| Green Mountain Rd. |
15,800 |
45,000 |
53,000 |
89,000 |
78,000 |
89,000 |
+98% |
| O'Connor Rd. |
16,800 |
56,000 |
63,000 |
87,000 |
87,000 |
99,000 |
+77% |
| Gold Canyon Dr. |
19,800 |
73,000 |
78,000 |
114,000 |
109,000 |
114,000 |
+56% |
| W of US 281N |
24,000 |
92,000 |
104,000 |
127,000 |
122,000 |
133,000 |
+45% |
| Bitters Rd. |
25,000 |
70,000 |
83,000 |
108,000 |
114,000 |
109,000 |
+56% |
| Tradesman Dr. |
26,000 |
72,000 |
83,000 |
113,000 |
115,000 |
125,000 |
+74% |
| La Cantera Pkwy. |
21,000 |
54,000 |
64,000 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
111,000 |
+106% |
| Hausmann Rd. |
13,300 |
43,000 |
50,000 |
77,000 |
88,000 |
94,000 |
+119% |
| N of Bandera Rd. |
10,200 |
41,000 |
49,000 |
76,000 |
88,000 |
91,000 |
+122% |
| S of Bandera Rd. |
8,700 |
39,000 |
32,000 |
80,000 |
69,000 |
67,000 |
+72% |
Construction
projects
No current projects in this corridor.
Several projects are underway
just beyond each end of this corridor. To the west, various improvements,
including a superstreet, are underway
between Braun Rd. and SH 151. On the east end, work is underway to widen
the loop to a four lane divided highway from FM 78 to I-10 East.
Future plans
TxDOT and the Alamo Regional
Mobility Authority released plans in June 2007 for a $1.8 billion
mega-project to upgrade and expand Loop 1604 across northern San Antonio
from Military Dr. West around to I-10 East. This project will add
tolled expressway lanes where there are currently no expressway lanes
(i.e. south of Braun Rd. and south of FM 78) and along the existing
expressway will add new tolled express "managed" lanes in the median between
the existing free
expressway lanes, which will remain free. Additionally, it will
build major interchanges at SH 151, I-10W, US 281N, I-35N, and I-10E, as
well as modifications and improvements on those intersecting roads.
An environmental impact study on the entire corridor is currently
underway and is expected to be completed in 2012.
In February 2009, Congress
approved a national economic "stimulus" plan that would pour additional federal
money into road construction projects. The Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) approved allocating
San Antonio's share of transportation stimulus funding to be used as
matching funds to leverage state funding for first half of a 281/1604
interchange. This project would build all four of the ramps connecting
to 281 south of 1604, i.e. northbound 281 to both directions of 1604,
and both directions of 1604 to southbound 281. The use of the
federal funds will allow the ramps to be toll-free. It was
determined that ramps connecting to 281 north of 1604 could not be built
until lingering issues stemming from the lawsuits and associated
environmental studies for 281 north of 1604 are resolved. The
Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) approved the funding request on
March 5th, 2009, and construction is expected to begin in late 2010.
For more information on the 281/1604 interchange, click
here.
On March 13th,2009, it was reported
that opponents to the 281 North toll project were considering a legal challenge to the 281/1604 interchange
on the grounds that it should be subject to a new environmental review
as part of the entire Loop 1604 and US 281 studies. However, as of
the end of 2009, no lawsuits had been filed. Environmentalists
again hinted in late April 2010 that they might sue to stop the
interchange unless sufficient measures were taken to protect endangered
species in the vicinity. Despite reported negotiations, a lawsuit
was subsequently filed in August 2010. In early February 2011, the
federal judge in the case indicated that he would not be issuing an
injunction against the project prior to hearing the case, which is
currently expected in mid to late 2011. Work on the project
subsequently began in late February. In April 2011, the federal
judge denied an injunction against the project. However, the
lawsuit remains pending and will likely go to court sometime in late
2011.
History
Authorized by Minute Order 72928
(June 30, 1977). Named for former Bexar County Judge Charles W.
Anderson who died from cancer in 1964 after serving for 25 years on the
bench.
Loop 1604 was assembled from a
number of Farm-to-Market and State Loop roads in the early '60s and holds the distinction
as the only four-digit road in Texas that is not a Farm-to-Market road. One of the FM roads
that was included in the eventual loop was FM 1604, and segments of
other roads added to the loop were renumbered as FM 1604.
However, when the loop was done and state officials were ready to change
the designation to a Loop, they found that the 1604 number had become
familiar to area residents. So in 1977 they simply
changed the route designation to Loop 1604. (FM 1604 has since
been recycled and is in use in Irene, Texas, east of Hillsboro.)
Loop 1604 usurped all or parts of FM
1518, FM 1604, FM 1627, and FM 2173. FM 1518 ran from Somerset
east to Elmendorf, then north to near US 87 and then on to Schertz.
FM 1627 was a short road connecting I-35 to Pat Booker, and FM 2173
connected Somerset to Macdona. There was also a proposed Loop
334, which would've run along today's 1604 routing from I-10 West to Macdona;
this route was instead eventually built as part of the 1604 project.
In the mid '50s, work began on the
first segment of FM 1604 from I-10 to US 281 and was completed around
1958. By 1964, it had been extended to Bandera Rd. on the west and
to I-10 East. It reached Macdonna ca. 1974. FM 2173 and 1518
were upgraded and redesignated as FM 1604 in the mid '70s, and the
missing section, between I-10 East and FM 1518 was built in the late
'70s.
The current
interchanges at I-10 and I-35 were completed around 1986. Around
1987, the section between US 281 and I-10 was upgraded to a four lane freeway.
The section between US 281 and I-35 was upgraded to a freeway in two
phases in the late '80s. The segment from I-10 to Babcock was
upgraded in the early '90s as was the section from I-35 to FM 78.
The section from Babcock to Braun Rd. was completed in 1996. The
section from Braun Rd. to near Culebra was upgraded to a divided
highway in 1999, and the overpass at Culebra opened in mid 2004. TransGuide coverage was added to the section between Babcock and
Tradesman in 1999. The previously missing access roads between NW
Military and Bitters were added during the Summer of 2002.
TransGuide coverage was extended to the section from I-10 to Bandera Rd.
in April 2003. Work to upgrade the section from SH 151 south to
US 90 from a two lane rural road to a four lane divided highway was
completed in 2007.
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