On May 11, the Texas Department of Transportation celebrated the groundbreaking for the I-35 North East Expansion, or NEX, Central project.
The $1.5 billion project is part of Texas Clear Lanes and is aimed to increase mobility, reduce congestion and enhance safety for drivers.
According to Gina Gallegos, TxDOT district engineer for the San Antonio District, I-35 has an average of 200,000 drivers each day with that number estimated to increase to 430,000 daily drivers by 2044.
To address the traffic problem, the project will include 9.5 miles of elevated lanes with three lanes going each direction, northbound and southbound.
“This project is critical to address anticipated increases in traffic growth along the I-35 corridor,” Gallegos said.
Texas Transportation Commission Chair J. Bruce Bugg said Texas' population growth will lead to more need for road expansion in the future.
According to Bugg, Texas has an estimated population of 29 million and is anticipated to reach 47 million by 2050.
“We are on the road to gaining more Texans by 2050, and we are going to be right at 47 million Texans by 2050,” Bugg. “What that means is, at TxDOT, it falls to us to think about what are the needs of not only the Texans of today, but also the Texans of tomorrow.”
Bugg said the San Antonio area is projected to grow by 77% by 2050, and the corridor between San Antonio and Austin is the fastest-growing corridor in the United States.
State officials and representatives of the San Antonio metrocom cities gave support and highlighted the importance of the I-35 expansion project and the ability to keep traffic moving.
The project area will be from I-410 North in Bexar County to FM 3009 in Guadalupe County, and work is anticipated to be completed by 2027.
According to a TxDOT release, I-35 NEX Central is the first of three planned expansion projects along a 20-mile stretch of I-35 from north of AT&T Center Parkway to FM 1103.
Projects updates and additional information are available here.
