Super Street delayed; intersections to be closed

Thanks to this particularly rainy year San Antonio is experiencing, completion of the Hwy 281 Super Street has been delayed by about three weeks.  But, that’s hardly the bad news.

Beginning Friday, Aug. 27, the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority will begin closing intersections along Hwy 281 in order to repave and restripe the new Super Street and complete the installation of traffic signals.

“We know this is going to be painful,” says Leroy Alloway, Alamo RMA's director of community development. 

The closures will begin on Friday nights and continue through the weekend.   The RMA has scheduled closures at this time in order to avoid disruptions for commuters during the regular workweek. 

The first of four intersections to be shut down in the coming weeks, Hwy 281 at Encino Rio will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27 through 5:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 30.  The intersections at Evans, Stone Oak Parkway and Marshall Road will follow in that order. 

The entire project is expected to be completed by late September.  Kicked off in March of this year, the $5.1 million Super Street is designed to relieve congestion by reducing the number of traffic signal phases at three major intersections.  To do this, cars on Evans, Stone Oak Parkway and Marshall Road will no longer be allowed to cross or turn left onto Hwy 281.  Instead, motorists will be directed right onto the highway and given the option to head straight or turn around at additional traffic lights that will be installed roughly 1,000 feet from each intersection. 

Encino Rio, which originally had a similar design to the other three intersections, will now maintain its left-hand turn lanes.  An Alamo RMA staff member says traffic models indicated too many vehicles are already entering the highway from Encino Rio to make the Super Street effective at this location.  Some changes will still be made at the intersection however, including the addition of additional turn lanes on Encino Rio. 

More information is available at www.411on281.com.