The Texas Department of Transportation calls it a full closure, but motorists might call it a full nightmare.
All of the Loop 1604/I-10 Interchange on the Far Northwest Side of San Antonio will be closed this weekend for construction. Other full weekend closures can be expected at that location for all of January, weather permitting.
A TXDOT contractor is installing beams for new ramps and beams at the interchange, so it will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday and during similar hours the following weekends.
Some detours will be provided, but the department's spokeswoman Jennifer Serold has a focused message for motorists.
"Avoid the 1604 and I-10 Interchange if you can this weekend. If you can't, give yourself a lot of time to get through that interchange. We just thank you for your patience."
TXDOT does have some good news.
All the construction on 1604 from Bandera Road to I-10 could be completed by the end of this year, meaning five lanes will open in each direction. The Loop 1604 ramp to I-10 towards Boerne will also likely open by then.
The Interchange itself won't be completed until 2027.
It's all part of the eventual one-billion-dollar expansion of 1604 from Bandera Road to I-35 through 23 miles of the North Side.
Around 150,000 motorists travel through the North Side on 1604 every day. State transportation officials say that number is expected to double over the next 20 years.
Much of the new growth in the area is north of 1604 along I-10 in Bexar and Kendall Counties and north of 1604 along Bandera Road in the Helotes area.
Rows of new subdivisions in far west Bexar County are also putting more vehicles on the loop.
Forty years ago, the loop was just two lanes and the scene of many fatal traffic accidents, earning it the nickname, "The Death Loop."
Today, the loop is divided in both directions with a median and safety barriers at many locations, greatly reducing the number of fatal accidents in more recent decades.
