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The Source: Improving San Antonio's Highway System

Chris Eudaily
/
TPR News
Northbound traffic on Hwy. 281 at Nakoma.

An $825 million plan from the Texas Department of Transportation to improve Interstate 10 and Highways 1604 and US 281 is in the works.

The focus of the effort is to add lanes -- including toll lanes. San Antonio is the last major metropolitan city in Texas without tolls, and the effort to toll has spurred vocal opponents.

North 1604has seen a 300 percent increase in traffic from the 1990s -- going from 25,000 cars a day to over 100,000. I-10's traffic has jumped outside of loop 410 by 25 percent since 2001 with as many as 200,000 cars using sections of the road. Hwy. 281 N has been the focus of much controversy in the history of the city, and it too isn't currently able to accommodate all the cars using it.

We talk with TxDOT about the future of these projects, the price tag and what the community will get for its money.

Guests:

  • Mario Jorge, district engineer for TxDOT
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Paul Flahive can be reached at Paul@tpr.org