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Wurzbach Pkwy San Antonio Area Freeway System
Wurzbach Parkway

This page last updated November 27, 2012

Wurzbach Pkwy highlight map This page covers the Wurzbach Parkway in North San Antonio.

Length: 7 miles completed of 12 miles planned


On this page

Overview
 
Roadway
details
Exits Speed
limits
Special features
& notes
         
Traffic
 
Media gallery
(Not yet available)
Construction
projects
Future
plans
History
         

Overview

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 was redeveloped as an entertainment area with an amusement park, high school football stadium, and soccer complex including the home stadium for San Antonio's NASL team.  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 the three segments began in late 2010 and early 2011 with completion in 2013 and 2014.


Roadway details

Wurzbach Pkwy status mapThe 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.  Improvements were made to that section of Wurzbach to support the anticipated increases in traffic from the completed parkway.
 
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)
  • 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
  • Parkway merges into Starcrest Dr
 
SPEED LIMITS

  • 60 mph from Starcrest to Weidner
  • 45 mph along remainder
 
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
 
TRAFFIC


Relatively light along the completed segments.  With the exception of the Wetmore location, traffic counts have grown substantially over the past decade.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL DAILY TRAFFIC
LOCATION 2000 2006 2009 2010 2011 '01-'11
% CHG
Weidner Rd. 5,700 11,000 15,600 15,800 15,400 +161.02%
Perrin-Beitel Rd. 17,100 18,000 29,000 29,000 23,000 +37.72%
Nacogdoches Rd. 22,000 32,000 31,000 31,000 25,000 +13.64%
Wetmore Rd. 29,000 35,000 29,000 29,000 25,000 -7.41%


Construction projects

  • Wetmore to West Ave.: Construction of last parkway segments.  Click here for details on these projects.

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


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 (by far the most of any project in the state during that round of funding.)  The project was 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 began in 2011 with estimated 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.

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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The information provided on this website is provided on an "as-is" basis without warranties of any kind either express or implied.  The author and his agents make no warranties or representations of any kind concerning any information contained in this website.  This website is provided only as general information.  The author expressly disclaims all liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based upon the information contained herein or with respect to any errors or omissions in such information.  All opinions expressed are strictly those of the author.  This site is not affiliated in any way with any official agency.