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290 IN THE CORRIDOR The stretch of I-35 between Austin and San Antonio is the 10th-most congested highway in the nation and the second-most congested in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Construction along the interstate is underway to support the region’s growth. Commuting
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Loop 410 North. The nal portion of the three-part project will be I-35 NEX North, which will focus on I-35 between FM 3009 and FM 1103. This project is unfunded, Lopez said. Lopez said future travel times are expected to improve by 41%-48% on I-35 from FM 3009 to the AT&T Center, which is 15.5 miles. “Without the I-35 NEX project, travel time is about 29 minutes on the main lanes of I-35,” she said. “With the I-35 NEX project, travel time will be 17 minutes on the main lanes and 15 minutes on the elevated lanes.” Traversing the future In 1984, the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council, a regional nonpro t public-private partner- ship, was created to support long-term infrastruc- ture and economic development for the corridor. Corridor Council President Ross Milloy said $10 billion will be put into I-35 growth over the next ve to 10 years from planned projects alone. In 2016, the Lone Star Rail District, which was to be a commuter rail between Austin and San Anto- nio, died after a vote from CAMPO. But Milloy said he believes the idea of rail is likely to return. “I still think that a rail connection between Austin and San Antonio is necessary and inevitable,” he said. Another organization, San Antonio-based VIA Metropolitan Transit, is in the early stages of starting a pilot program—once funding is secured—that will provide public bus routes between the two cities with stops in San Marcos and New Braunfels. Other concerns for the corridor—especially within Austin and San Antonio—are water and air quality, Milloy said. Should the two cities move into nonattainment— or “smog city” classi cation due to ground-level ozone measurements—it would lead to restrictions on development and could lead to inspection fees across Bexar County, Milloy said. To help ght pollution, the Electric Transporta- tion Compact was created in 2020 and tasked with responding to the leading cause of air pollution in the South Central Texas region. The organization is working with Bexar and Travis counties to upgrade eets to electric vehicles. Economic growth San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the corri- dor growing into a metroplex is an inevitability. “My hope is that in the process, the two cities become better versions of themselves and specif- ically San Antonio continues to grow into a more inclusively prosperous place that retains its unique cultural heritage,” Nirenberg said. He would also like the city to look toward connec- tivity between the east and west sides, Nirenberg said. “With progress on the north-south line well underway, it’s time to look even further into the future and plot a course for a corridor connecting east and west San Antonio—and elevate the poten- tial of historically underserved areas,” he said. As Austin and San Antonio continue to thrive and
AUSTIN
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Capital Express South
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construction projects
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Hwy. 123 to Hwy. 80
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SAN MARCOS
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123
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I-35/FM 306 to Hays/Comal county line
I-35 at FM 725
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NEW BRAUNFELS
SELMA
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I-35 Northeast Expansion Central
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I 35 DAILY TRAFFIC COUNTS
SAN ANTONIO
Daily tra c counts show tra c into and out of San Antonio between Selma and Cibolo into New Braunfels are approaching those already experienced between downtown and East Austin.
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Downtown Austin: 208,000 San Marcos: 125,000 Selma: 173,000
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SOURCES: ALAMO AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, CAPITAL METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
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informationo cerfortheTexasDepartmentofTrans- portation, said the organization is working to address future tra c growth and congestion on I-35. Each day, 100,000-150,000 vehicles use the sec- tion of I-35 between San Antonio and Austin. Many of these vehicles are carrying people commuting on a daily basis, Lopez said. TxDOT projects include the I-35 Northeast Expansion (NEX), which is a three-part project that will add elevated lanes and additional lanes on the interstate. The central portion of the project broke ground in May and will add 9.5 miles of elevated nontolled lanes from Loop 410 North to FM 3009, Lopez said. This $1.5 billion project is part of the Texas Clear Lanes initiative, which focuses on addressing con- gestion throughout the state. The project is expected to be completed in 2027. In 2024, TxDOT will begin work on I-35 NEX South, which runs from North Walters Street to
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Jordan Matney, New Braunfels assistant city manager, said the position of cities on the I-35 corridor has in uenced its economic growth and development. “I think when I-35 traverses your city, you’re sort of primed for growth,” Matney said. “I think the entire state of Texas is seeing a large amount of growth within the last 10-20 years. And a lot of those cities on the I-35 corridor ... have seen some rapid development.” Connecting the corridor Alongside population increases, tra c will increase throughout the corridor, and businesses will continue to move in, leaving organizations, such as AAMPO and CAMPO, to plan ahead and pri- oritize future road projects. Laura Lopez, the San Antonio district public
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