When the novel coronavirus hit the San Antonio area in mid-March, the stay-at-home orders implemented to slow the spread of the disease significantly cut down traffic on city streets and area highways.
So much so that Waze, the Google GPS navigation app, showed a nearly 80 percent decrease in vehicles crisscrossing roadways across the city.
The Texas Department of Transportation wasted no time in making use of the clear roads and soon the $532 million project to improve U.S. 281 on the North Side was well ahead of schedule.
“We saw that decrease as an opportunity, and took advantage of the reduced traffic to do daytime closures, which resulted in more production from our crews,” said Mario Jorge, the San Antonio District Engineer for TxDOT.
Jorge said it’s difficult to quantify exactly how much COVID-19 has aided the construction effort, but it amounts to savings in time and staffing.
Two northbound lanes of U.S. 281 from Loop 1604 to Evans Road opened in June, and southbound direct connectors from U.S. 281 to Loop 1604 opened in August, several weeks earlier than expected, Jorge said.
And flyover lanes on U.S. 281 over Evans Road opened over the weekend; new ramps provide access on and off U.S. 281 just north of the intersection.
In the next week or two, TxDOT officials expect to open the underpass of the intersection to traffic on Evans Road as well as the turnarounds that have been built at the intersection for traffic on the U.S. 281 access roads in both directions.
Phase 1 of the construction on U.S. 281 — from Loop 1604 to north of Stone Oak — began in 2017. Phase 2, scheduled for completion in 2023, picks up where Phase 1 ends and runs north to the Bexar/Comal…
When the novel coronavirus hit the San Antonio area in mid-March, the stay-at-home orders implemented to slow the spread of the disease significantly cut down traffic on city streets and area highways.
So much so that Waze, the Google GPS navigation app, showed a nearly 80 percent decrease in vehicles crisscrossing roadways across the city.
The Texas Department of Transportation wasted no time in making use of the clear roads and soon the $532 million project to improve U.S. 281 on the North Side was well ahead of schedule.
“We saw that decrease as an opportunity, and took advantage of the reduced traffic to do daytime closures, which resulted in more production from our crews,” said Mario Jorge, the San Antonio District Engineer for TxDOT.
Jorge said it’s difficult to quantify exactly how much COVID-19 has aided the construction effort, but it amounts to savings in time and staffing.
Two northbound lanes of U.S. 281 from Loop 1604 to Evans Road opened in June, and southbound direct connectors from U.S. 281 to Loop 1604 opened in August, several weeks earlier than expected, Jorge said.
And flyover lanes on U.S. 281 over Evans Road opened over the weekend; new ramps provide access on and off U.S. 281 just north of the intersection.
In the next week or two, TxDOT officials expect to open the underpass of the intersection to traffic on Evans Road as well as the turnarounds that have been built at the intersection for traffic on the U.S. 281 access roads in both directions.
Phase 1 of the construction on U.S. 281 — from Loop 1604 to north of Stone Oak — began in 2017. Phase 2, scheduled for completion in 2023, picks up where Phase 1 ends and runs north to the Bexar/Comal…
