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San Antonio Area
Freeway System
Wurzbach
Parkway |
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This page last updated
June 20, 2011 |
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This page covers the Wurzbach Parkway in North San Antonio.
Length:
7 miles completed of 12 miles planned |
On this page:
Description
There are no long-distance
east-west arterials between Loop 410 and Loop 1604 in North San Antonio.
As a result, Loop 410 and Loop 1604 are overburdened carrying the vast
majority of that
east-west traffic. The Wurzbach Parkway is a new east-west
"super-arterial" being built across northern San Antonio connecting I-10
to I-35. It is intended to reduce the load on both loops as well
as several arterials in the vicinity. Currently, the eastern third
the parkway, from Wetmore to I-35 is complete as is the far western
section from Lockhill-Selma to Blanco Rd. The parkway is being
developed under the Principal Arterial Street System (PASS) program and
carries a internal TxDOT route number of PA-1502.
The route passes through a variety of
urban land uses. The eastern end of the route passes through a light
commercial and industrial area before entering the former Longhorn Quarry, which
is currently being redeveloped as an entertainment area with a children's
amusement park and high school sports complex. The parkway then passes
through the commercial, residential, and light industrial areas around Perrin-Beitel
and Nacogdoches before passing over an active quarry near Wetmore Rd. The
western section runs mostly through the future Hardberger Park (formerly Voelker
Park), with commercial and residential development lining the route at the far
western end.
On November 19, 2009, the
Texas Transportation Commission approved spending $130 million in Proposition 12
bond funds to complete the parkway. Work on two of three segments began in
late 2010 with
completion in 2013-2014. The final segment should begin construction in
mid 2011.
Roadway details
 The
map to the right shows the completed segments in green.
The parkway features four
and six lanes divided by a raised island median. There are
no access roads and connections to local streets and driveways
is limited with overpasses at most major intersections along the
eastern segment. The route is classified as a "super-arterial"
rather than a freeway which means that it is basically a hybrid
between a major street and a minor expressway. The
right-of-way is 120 feet wide along the route and 220 feet wide
at interchanges. The route includes bike lanes,
aesthetically-pleasing structures, and noise abatement walls.
The eastern section has
overpasses and interchanges at Wetmore, Nacogdoches, Perrin-Beitel, and
Thousand Oaks. The interchange at Wetmore is a partial
cloverleaf; the others are diamonds. At the far eastern
end, the parkway crosses
Weidner at a signalized,
at-grade intersection and terminates at an intersection where it
merges with the pre-existing but reconfigured O'Connor Road.
Through traffic can then continue east to I-35 on O'Connor. On the western end of this
section, the parkway merges into Starcrest just west of Wetmore,
providing the through route to US 281.
The western section meets
Lockhill-Selma, NW Military, and Blanco Rd. at
signalized, at-grade intersections. The section between Lockhill-Selma
and NW Military has a landscaped and lighted pedestrian trail in
the median. The western end of the parkway is at Lockhill-Selma,
but through traffic can continue west to I-10 and beyond on the
pre-existing Wurzbach Road.
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EXITS |
| (Eastern segment)
EASTBOUND (from Starcrest):
- Wetmore Rd
- Nacogdoches Rd
- FM 2252/Perrin-Beitel
Rd
- Thousand Oaks Dr
- Turnaround
- Weidner Rd
(At-grade signalized intersection)
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Parkway ends at
O'Connor Rd/Crosswinds Way at-grade signalized intersection
WESTBOUND (from
O'Connor/Crosswinds):
- Weidner Rd
(At-grade signalized intersection)
- Thousand Oaks Dr
- FM 2252/Perrin-Beitel
Rd
- Nacogdoches Rd
- Wetmore Rd
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Parkway merges
into Starcrest Dr
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SPEED LIMITS |
- 60 mph
from Starcrest to Weidner
- 45 mph
along remainder
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SPECIAL FEATURES &
NOTES |
- Bike lanes from
Wetmore to Perrin-Beitel and from Lockhill-Selma to NW Military
- Walking trail in
median between Lockhill-Selma and NW Military
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TRAFFIC |
Light along the completed
segments. Traffic counts have grown steadily since 1999.
(The 1999 count at Weidner Rd. appears to be either an
anomaly or an error.)
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AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC |
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LOCATION |
1999 |
2000 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
'99-'08
% CHG |
| Weidner Rd. |
28,000 |
5,700 |
11,000 |
14,600 |
16,300 |
-42% |
| Perrin-Beitel Rd. |
25,000 |
17,100 |
18,000 |
20,000 |
31,000 |
+24% |
| Nacogdoches Rd. |
23,000 |
22,000 |
32,000 |
30,000 |
33,000 |
+43% |
| Wetmore Rd. |
21,000 |
29,000 |
25,000 |
33,000 |
33,000 |
+57% |
Construction
projects
- Wetmore to
West Ave.: Construction of last parkway segments.
Click here for details on these projects.
Click
here for the latest status report on these
projects.
Future plans
Completion of the
parkway from Wetmore to Blanco and an interchange at US 281 were being considered for a possible
tollway project; however it was determined in early 2007 that this
was not feasible. Three possible interchange configurations were considered at 281:
- Wurzbach Parkway flyover
over US 281 with ramps to 281 access roads
- Elevated roundabout
interchange
- Full interchange
(half-stack, half-cloverleaf)
The section
between NW Military and Blanco runs through Hardberger (Voelker) Park. A
proposal by the city would construct a landscaped "land bridge" over the
parkway connecting the two halves of the park.
A request for funding to
construct the Blanco - West and Wetmore - Jones-Maltsberger segments was
included in the MPO's economic stimulus funding request in late February
2009, but it was not selected to receive stimulus funds. However,
on November 19, 2009, the Texas
Transportation Commission approved spending $130 million in Proposition 12 bond
funds to complete the parkway. The project will be divided into three
phases: Blanco to West, West to Jones-Maltsberger, and Jones-Maltsberger to
Wetmore. Work began in late 2010 on the outer two segments
with completion in 2013. Work on the center segment should begin in 2011
with completion in 2014. At this time, because of relatively low traffic
volumes and funding limitations, no directional interchange will be constructed
at US 281. Instead, drivers will use the US 281 access roads. A map of the proposed route between
Blanco and Wetmore is available here (320
KB).
After a spate of head-on collisions
caused by drivers jumping the raised median, a concrete center barrier was
installed in early 2010 between Wetmore and Weidner. Initially, the parkway was
designed and built for a 45 mph speed limit, but after public complaints, the
city raised the speed limit ca. 2000 to 60 mph. This was a contributing
factor for the increase of accidents.
History
The route was originally proposed in
the late '80s as the aptly-named "East-West Parkway." Eventually
named Wurzbach Parkway because it connects to Wurzbach Road in
northwestern San Antonio. Wurzbach Road is named for William
Wurzbach who owned a ranch around what is now I-10 and Wurzbach Road.
He built a road through his property and eventually deeded the road to
the county. Wurzbach also served as a county judge and county
attorney.
The first section of the parkway from
Wetmore Rd. to Nacogdoches Rd. was completed in 1996. The section
from Nacogdoches to O'Connor was completed in September 1999. The
section between Lockhill-Selma and NW Military was completed in late
March 2000. The section between NW Military and Blanco Rd. was
completed in July 2002.
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