I-35 is about to look a whole lot different. Like two levels different

Drivers may not be able to recognize this stretch of road anymore. 

Rendering of TxDOT plans for I-35 expansion.
Courtesy of TxDOT

MYSA
By Zachary-Taylor Wright
January 14, 2024

There’s more than one major San Antonio highway getting a major facelift this year. The $1.4 billion expansion of Loop 1604 to a 10-lane highway is getting a lot of attention as one of the largest scale Texas Department of Transportation projects in the Alamo City, but I-35 on the Eastside is about to look a lot different as well.

Another major project underway in 2024 is the expansion of a 15-mile stretch of I-35 between FM 1103 near Schertz over to North Walters Street by Fort Sam Houston. As part of this large-scale expansion, the highway will soon be a two-tier highway with raised lanes connecting I-35 traffic directly to Loop 1604 and Loop 410 at both intersections.

“So that’s the whole I-35 NEX, or Northeast Expansion Project. We call it NEX,” TxDOT PIO Jennifer Serold told MySA. “Right now, currently under construction on I-35 is the central phase. The central phase is from 410, like the Windcrest area, all the way to Selma.”

The current 9-mile stretch of the project is costing an estimated $1.5 billion, according to Serold, and the elevated lanes are slated to provide two general purpose lanes and a single high-occupancy vehicle lane directly connecting I-35 to Loop 410. According to the TxDOT project website, this section of the I-35 overhaul kicked off back in 2022, and the phase is tagged for a 2027 completion date.

Rendering of TxDOT plans for I-35 expansion.
Courtesy of TxDOT

“We’re expanding the corridor to accommodate for the growing congestion,” Serold said. “And then, of course, the future growth on that corridor. Since I-35 is a critical corridor that connects San Antonio to Austin and then when you go further up all the way to Dallas. So, we have a lot of travelers on this road.”

As part of this major revamp of the Texas interstate staple, there are several long-term closures in place along I-35 in San Antonio. For much of February and March, there’s going to be several lane closures along the frontage road of I-35. 

Later this year, possibly in the summer months, TxDOT is slated to kick off construction on the section of I-35 between Loop 410 North, by Windcrest, and Loop 410 South, by Kirby. This second phase of the project, which spans 4 miles of the Texas highway, is slated to cost $906 million, bringing the total cost of the I-35 project under construction this year to $2.4 billion with three more projects still on the books.

Rendering of TxDOT plans for I-35 expansion.
Courtesy of TxDOT

“The I-35 project involves the construction of two non-toll 15-mile long bridges (elevated lanes) between the I-35 main lanes and frontage roads from I-410 South to FM 3009,” TxDOT’s NEX project website states. “The elevated lanes will provide one high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane and two general purpose lanes in each direction.”

The second phase of the I-35 construction project is set to be completed by 2028, according to Serold.