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San Antonio @ LoneStarRoads.com
San Antonio, the eighth largest city in the United States, has an extensive freeway system. The home of the Alamo, San Antonio is a center for the military, particularly military medicine. The Riverwalk offers unique restaurants and shopping, and Sea World of Texas is located on the west side of the city.
Background information on San Antonio freeways will be limited in scope on this site. Brian Purcell's website, San Antonio Freeways, goes into significant detail on the freeways that are vital to keeping San Antonio mobile.
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Photographs:
Eastbound
Westbound |
Robert
McDermott Freeway Jose Lopez Freeway
Interstate 10 is San Antonios oldest freeway. The first
section, from Woodlawn Dr to Culebra Ave (current Spur
421), opened in 1949, with an extension south to Martin
Street in 1951. The section from Fredricksburg Rd north
of present-day Loop 410 to Loop 410 was open by 1962,
with the gap between Loop 410 and Woodlawn Drive open
by 1964. From Loop 13 eastward, construction was completed
by 1963, with the freeway extended west to Commerce
Street by 1964. By 1968, IH-10 was complete inside Bexar
County.
The Downtown Y project added a second level between
Hildebrand Street and IH-35 over the original 1949-51
freeway during the 1984-90 timeframe.
US 87 is multiplexed with IH-10 for the majority of
its run through San Antonio. US 90 is multiplexed with
IH-10 east of downtown.
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Photographs:
Northbound
Southbound |
Pan Am Freeway
Interstate 35 crosses the city from southwest to northeast.
The first section of the freeway, from S. Alamo St to
Nogalitos, was constructed in 1951 with a short double-deck
section added over Alamo Street in 1992. The section
from Alamo Street to Broadway (crossing IH-10) was completed
in 1957. From Broadway to Artesia Road (SBC Parkway),
the freeway was completed by 1961. The remainder of
the freeway inside Loop 1604 was done by 1964. The section
downtown between IH-10 and IH-37 was double decked by
1991.
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Lucian
Adams Freeway
Interstate 37 enters the city on the southeast side,
and ends downtown at IH-35. The first section, from
Loop 1604 to Flores Street, opened in 1969, followed
by the section between Florida Street and IH-35 in 1971.
During Hemisfair 68, a portion of the IH-37 right of
way was used to park cars for the Worlds Fair.
Interstate 37 is multiplexed with US 281 from IH-410
to IH-35.
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Photographs:
North Loop
East Loop
South Loop
West Loop |
John Connally
Loop
Interstate Loop 410 forms a loop around the city. This
freeway was predated by Loop 13, and absorbed the northwest
quadrant of Loop 13.
The northwest (US 90 to IH-410) section was constructed
between 1959 and 1960. Between IH-35 and Roosevelt (Spur
536, former US 281), the freeway was completed by 1964.
The rest of the freeway was done by 1967, however the
segment between IH-10 and IH-35 on the north side was
signed as State Loop 410. This final gap was added to
the Interstate system in 1969.
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Cleto Rodriguez
Freeway
US 90 serves the Westside of San Antonio. This freeway
opened in 1967 between Nogalitos and Cupples Street,
and was extended in 1968 to Loop 410. East of downtown,
US 90 is multiplexed with IH-10 until Seguin.
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Photographs
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McAllister Freeway
US 281 enters the city on the south central side. It
then multiplexes with IH-410, then IH-37 into Downtown.
North of IH-35, US 281 becomes the McAllister Freeway
and winds through Breckinridge Park to reach IH-410
and San Antonio International Airport, then continues
north to Loop 1604.
The US 281 freeway was completed in 1978 to San Antonio
Airport, and progressively extended to Loop 1604 between
1988 and 1990. The historic alignment was along Roosevelt
St to Navarro St, then north along San Pedro Ave.
More details on the controversy and construction delays
can be found on Brian Purcell's San
Antonio Freeways site.
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Raymond Stotzer Freeway
SH 151 is one of San Antonio's newest freeways. The
frontage roads were first opened in 1987, with the freeway
mainlanes added beginning in 1996. The road serves westside
developments, and most notably Sea World San Antonio. |
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C. W. Anderson Loop
Loop 1604 was created from a number of Farm to Market
roads between 1953 and 1969, with the original section
designated between US 87 (IH-10 north) and US 281. The
road was renamed Loop 1604 in 1977, retaining the FM
number for driver familiarity. Sections on the north
side were converted to freeway in 1986-87. |
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US 87
US 87 has been routed through San Antonio since 1939.
The present-day alignment is multiplexed with IH-10
from the Bexar County line on the west to Roland Avenue,
where US 87 separates along Roland Ave to Rigsby Avenue,
where US 87 follows its original alignment on surface
streets toward Victoria. |
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US 181
US 181 is the former main highway to Corpus Christi.
Originally ending in downtown, it was truncated at IH-37
in 1974. Historically, US 181 followed S. Presa Street
from Alamo Street.
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Bandera
Road
SH 16 has travelled through San Antonio since 1939.
The original routing came in on Bandera Road from Helotes,
then met US 87 and travelled downtown, continuing south
on South Flores Street to US 281. In 1964, SH 16 was
truncated at US 87/IH-10 north of downtown, then rerouted
in 1965 to its present day route. |
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Military Drive/Loop
13
Quite possibly the busiest arterial in San Antonio,
Military Drive is a visual assult of strip malls and
retailers. Loop 13 was first designated in 1939, and
steadily expanded over the years to become a full loop
of the city until IH-410 was designated. The north half
of Loop 13 became part of IH-410, until all that was
left is the present day alignment. |
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Fredericksburg Road
Loop 345 is a former alignment of US 87, bypassed in
stages between 1949 and 1962 as sections of the US 87/IH-10
freeway were built. The road was redesignated Loop 345
in 1962 and signed as Business US 87 until the early
1990s, when it was resigned as Loop 345. |
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Nogalitos Street -
New Laredo Highway
Loop 353 is a former alignment of US 81, bypassed in
1962. This road was originally signed as Business US
81 after being bypassed, but is now signed as Loop 353
after the decomissioning of US 81. |
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Broadway - Austin Highway
Loop 368 is the old alignment of US 81 north of downtown.
This stretch of road was renumbered in 1962 with the
completion of IH-35 north of downtown, and was signed
as Business US 81 until US 81 was decommissioned in
1991. |
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South Presa Street
Spur 122 is the former alignment of US 181 between
Loop 13 and present-day US 181. The current alignment
of Spur 122 was created in 1974 with the truncation
of US 181 at IH-37. |
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Bandera Road
Spur 421 is former SH 16 between IH-410 and IH-10.
This section of Bandera Road was renumbered to Spur
421 in 1965 with the realignment of SH 16 to it's present
day alignment. |
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Poteet Jourdanton Freeway
Spur 422 was created in 1965 as part of the realignment
of SH 16. Spur 422 is the short section of former SH
346 (folded into SH 16) between IH-35 and IH-410. |
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Roosevelt Street
Spur 536 is former US 281 south of Downtown. This road
was renumbered in 1978 with the completion of the McAllister
Freeway, and subsequent realignment of US 281 to the
route of IH-410 and IH-37 into downtown. Roosevelt remains
a busy arterial street. |
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San Pedro Ave
Spur 537 is a short connector between IH-410 and US
281 on the north side of town. This busy street is part
of the old alignment of US 281, and was used for many
years to access SH 281 northbound as the interchange
between the two freeways was non-existant (and is only
now being remedied). |
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Page Updated February 9, 2006.
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