Pothole filled roads, bumpy highways and shaky bridges in Texas are posing mounting challenges to Texas drivers, according to a new report from TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation research organization.
Of the 100 transportation challenges identified in the report, five out of the top 50 are located in the San Antonio area.
The report, “Texas’ Top 100 Transportation Challenges and the Improvements Needed to Address Them,” identifies 38 segments of the state’s major roads and highways that have significant levels of traffic congestion and need for reconstructed.
Carolyn Bonifas Kelly, TRIP's associate director of research and communication, says the roads are costing Texas drivers lost time and increased vehicle maintenance, and sometimes their lives.
“If San Antonio continues to grow economically and prosper, then the city and the region itself are going to have to find a way to tackle these transportation issues and at this point the more congested the less attracted the area becomes to new businesses,” Kelly says.
The top transportation challenges in the San Antonio area according to TRIP are:
- Congestion on IH 35 from 410 up to Schertz where there is significant big rig truck traffic.
- Bottlenecks on Loop 410 from US 281 to I-35.
- Chokepoints on Loop 1604 in the Northwest from Bandera to Culebra.
- Congestion on US 281 from 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway.
Kelly says it may be bad now, but unless action is taken it’s going to get worse.
“It’s certainly not going to get better,” she said.
