San Antonio's Rockstar Turned Realtor®: San Antonio's Share Of The Economic Stimulus Money

I've always had a fascination with highway interchanges.

When I first moved to San Antonio, I noticed the lack of them at many key intersections.  The highway system here had some problems if you ask me.  If there's one thing that San Antonio takes care of though, its our roads.  Although the constant construction is a nightmare for those of use who travel on our roads, its better to see progress (even slow progress) being made than none at all.  With all the construction, I tend to marvel at the feats of human engineering that are taking place.  Ever driven Eastbound on 410 and got onto the ramp to 281 North?  The view is unparalleled in this town.  Its absolutely breathtaking to be on that long, stratospheric ramp.

We've got some great interchanges now, but there's work to be done.

San Antonio is moving forward with its highway construction, and yes, there still is work to be done.  Even upon completion, the new Bandera Road/410 interchange will only compensate for traffic heading South on Bandera Road onto Eastbound 410 and Westbound on 410 heading North onto Bandera Road.  Its not a perfect system, but its getting there.  The biggest bone of contention in our traffic system recently has been the 1604 and 281 interchanges.  Since I've moved here, I've heard all sorts of different ideas floated around.  The one that seems to have caused the most stir was the toll road proposals that were suggested in order to fund the project.  While I have no great love for toll roads, I have seen their use in Pennsylvania as a great way to get projects funded and traffic flowing (of course our toll roads there are now out of date, so they are working on that now).  I don't like to pay for driving my car through my city, but if I need to be somewhere and it means less congestion for me - I'm apt to do it.

San Antonio makes its move at 281 and 1604.

With all of the economic stimulus money floating around, cities are trying to find ways to spend it, create jobs, and make much needed improvements to their infrastructure.  San Antonio is no different.  On Thursday, March 5, TxDOT approved funds for the construction of part of the interchange at 281 and 1604.  This area is plagued by congestion during all hours of the day.  At rush hour, I try to avoid it completely.  Without interchanges, drivers are forced to exit the highway to surface streets until they can again enter the other highway.  Add a stop light to the mix and a very popular area of restaurants and shopping and you can see why this is a traffic nightmare.

With the approval of the funds, the construction can begin in the next few months.  Expected to cost $140 million dollars and take about four years, it will get much worse before it gets better, but progress has a tendency to do that (just look at the Bandera Rd/410 interchange work).  The proposal includes four of the eight interchanges to be built - two connecting Eastbound and Westbound 1604 to 281 North and two connecting Eastbound and Westbound 1604 to 281 South.  TxDOT and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) have decided to keep the toll road plans shelved for now as the funds are directly available to complete these projects.

About $1 billion in projects will get funded.

One of the other projects already approved is the expansion of lanes on Southbound 1604 near FM 78 near Converse.  Northbound 281 has also been suggested as a potential project (perhaps they will build the 281 "Superstreet" or go with a completely different concept) and I believe it needs to be considered sooner rather than later.  Stone Oak area has become a mess of traffic congestion and in terms of real estate, I am seeing less people interested in homes up around that area.  Hopefully, they can also fix the 1604/151 interchange (a red light just isn't cutting it), Shaenfield Rd. at 1604, finish off the 410 expansion project, the Bandera Rd./410 interchange, and the Bandera Rd./1604 interchange could use some help too.  I'm sure they have a list a mile long compared to mine.

San Antonio is growing.

San Antonio continues to grow and since I've been here, I've seen a bit of "growing pains" as we adapt to the new highway projects and interchanges.  Its rough some mornings and I want to curse at the sky, but compared to some of the other places I've lived, San Antonio is pretty on the ball with their construction projects.  As the city expands and we funnel more money into our infrastructure, I hope city, county, and state leaders take into account future growth of our great city and give us what we need to expand and become a better city in the years to come.

I definitely think that San Antonio leaders have been pro-active about our infrastructure and I applaud them for consistently trying to develop new plans when old ones fail (the 281 "Superstreet" project came out of failure of other plans).  As long as we continue with strong leadership with bold ideas, this city could become stronger, more productive, and a shining star in the heart of Texas.  We've already got the name recognition, now let's really put San Antonio on the map.