From Elisa Chan, District 9 City Councilwoman:

 

Construction to Begin Soon on Highway 281 Super Street 
Last week, the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) began receiving bids for construction of the Highway 281 Super Street project.  This low bid project is scheduled to be awarded this month by the Alamo RMA Board of Directors, with construction starting in late February or in March.  All work is slated to be completed before school starts in August 2010, so this spring and summer will be busy on US 281.  The Alamo RMA is requiring most of the work be done at night to help minimize inconvenience for drivers along Highway 281 while these improvements are being put into place.  If work needs to be done during the day, it will not start until after the morning rush hour ends and will cease before the evening rush hour begins.

Blanco Road Project Construction to be Halted Temporarily 
State of Texas and Bexar County officials recently announced that a portion of the construction on Blanco Road, north of Loop 1604, will be temporarily put on hold due to some new environmental concerns.  About 3 weeks ago, a Bexar County construction crew exposed a karst feature, or underground solution cavity, on Blanco Road while excavating for the new travel lanes.  This area of roadway is located within the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and there is an identified endangered karst invertebrate species identified within the project limits.  Environmental protocols for situations like these include:
  • o  Cessation of all work in the vicinity of the karst feature  
  • o  Immediate notification to the TCEQ and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
  • o  Protection of the feature with sedimentation controls to keep debris and unregulated storm water runoff from entering the feature
  • o  Excavation of feature to allow scientific investigation for potential endangered karst invertebrate species
  • o  A minimum of three biological surveys, each a minimum of one week apart
  • o  Potential consultation with the USFWS
  • o  Mapping of the karst feature
  • o  Plans for closure of the feature, approved by all agencies
    •
Officials familiar with the project have indicated that this process should be completed by mid-February, barring the presence of any cave creatures.   During this time period, construction crews will be unable to continue the roadway construction in the affected area.  Construction will continue as scheduled in the areas that are not affected by the environmental concerns.  Project officials have also stated that the pavement in these areas is not at its final elevation because the contractor is constantly having to re-route traffic in those areas, and thus, has to keep placing temporary pavement markings while discarding the old ones.  This is not an activity that is desirable on newly placed final asphalt, so it is customary to wait to do final paving at the completion of the project.  Despite this minor set back, project officials have said that the Blanco Road Expansion project is still ahead of schedule. The project is over 75% complete and should be finished sometime this summer.  The Blanco Road Expansion project is a joint venture between Bexar County and the Texas Department of Transportation.
Alamo RMA to Host Meeting on Loop 1604 / US 281 Interchange 
On Monday, January 11th, the Alamo RMA will be hosting a public meeting at Parkhills Baptist Church relating to the proposed improvements to construct the southern four direct connectors of the U.S. 281 North / Loop 1604 interchange. The project will also include all necessary modifications to the U.S. 281 North and Loop 1604 main lanes and frontage roads to allow for the safe entrance and exit of the direct connector traffic to and from these roadways.  The limits for the project extend from approximately Bitters to Redland Road on Loop 1604 and Bitters to Loop 1604 on U.S. 281 North.  The way that the proposed plan currently exists, traffic travelling south on Stone Oak Parkway will have to make the same movement they do today to gain access to U.S. 281 because, at the present time, there is not a safe way to allow access to the direct connector onto Loop 1604 directly from Stone Oak or the Stone Oak frontage roads in this area.  The District 9 Council office strongly encourages area residents to attend this meeting because it is very important for everyone to understand how the interchange will affect the traffic patterns in this area.