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Follow TURFProposal to fix Hwy 281 North without tolls on horizon
Proposal without tolls aims to ease congestion
By Vianna Davila
Updated 04:58 a.m., Friday, March 23, 2012
A solution to worsening congestion on North U.S. 281 and on Northwest Loop 1604 might finally be in sight, but without tolls.
Sections of both would be widened into expressways, eliminating traffic lights and adding ramps and frontage roads, maybe as early as 2015, if a plan forged by Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff comes together.
Wolff has suggested using San Antonio's share of newly found state transportation money, combined with local dollars, to build 3½ miles of expressway on U.S. 281 from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway and 12½ miles on 1604 between U.S. 90 and Bandera Road.
The corridors' existing “superstreets” would be removed. The superstreets, which cost a combined $13.1 million, expedite traffic flow through the use of synchronized lights and turnarounds. They were designed as temporary congestion solutions.
But Wolff's plan must first clear several hurdles. Local authorities don't know how much of the $2 billion in state money San Antonio will get and whether it will be restricted. They also have to work out how to pull together the local share. The cost to expand portions of the two highways is also unknown. Still, if the plan works out, no tolls would be required for one of the biggest highway expansion projects in San Antonio in more than two decades.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Expansion-of-U-S-281-and-Loop-1604-looking-3428717.php#ixzz1qAHxFQ4s