“I have to plan an extra 30 to 45 minutes just to get where I’m going,” said one northwest San Antonio commuter.
He’s talking about Highway 1604. And in the battle against gridlock, county officials have a new hero: a 1604 “Superstreet.”
County Commissioner Paul Elizondo said, “All we know is we got people parked on 1604, and we want to move them.”
To get them moving along the highway’s most congested, most miserable few miles from Braun Road to Highway 151, the county is teaming up with TxDot and the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority to fund a facelift. The plan calls for longer-lasting green lights along that stretch of road and eliminates cross-traffic at Schaenfield Road and New Guilbeau Road, by getting rid of left turns.
TxDot engineers say the plan will improve the rush hour commute by more than 60% in the morning and nearly 80% after 5pm.
“It’s very simple. You increase the green time, increases your ability to move. That increases your speed. That decreases the number of times that you stop,” said Terry Brechtel, Executive Director of the Alamo RMA.
The improvements will cost $6.5 million dollars, some of it courtesy government bailout money. The project would be completed by August 2011.
The plan does not include any new capacity lanes. But, commuters say something is better than nothing.
“Anything would help at this point. They have to do something about this,” said one commuter.
