A surefire way to get San Antonio talking is to bring up highway construction or dicey intersections. With massive improvement projects lurking around every corner, both on highways and side streets, new intersections puzzling drivers and aging infrastructure, everyone has their own intersection that causes frustration or fear.
So, MySA turned to the experts – the people who drive the roads every day. It definitely got folks talking. We sifted through hundreds of comments, emails and social media threads to identify which intersections locals have deemed the worst or most dangerous.
There’s no question that many new intersection designs are inundating San Antonio. A diverging diamond still under construction has left locals puzzled; a “fidget spinner” of connected partial roundabouts has drivers scratching their heads and that Bandera and Loop 1604 intersection still has folks struggling.
But even more traditional construction methods have San Antonio drivers white-knuckling their steering wheels, according to a wave of feedback sent to MySA. Highway lanes that suddenly shapeshift into exit-only lanes, poorly timed traffic signals and constant construction have drivers stressed.
“Wurzbach Pkwy from [U.S.] 281 turning left onto NW Military. After finding that I barely avoided an accident every time I (tried) to make that left turn, I no longer go that way,” Gayle Weinraub wrote to MySA, echoing concerns shared by many angered drivers. “To reach Alon market, I now take West Ave. to NW Military.”
Loop 410 on the Northwest Side of San Antonio was another major culprit. Alexandria Faucett said turnarounds at several intersections under the loop would substantially reduce grief, claiming the rush to turn left under the highway leaves drivers gunning through yellow lights. On multiple occasions, Faucett says they’ve almost been rear-ended by someone rushing the light or have seen near-T-bones with folks turning left without a protected arrow.
But Loop 410, in general, seems to be a point of contention for San Antonio drivers.
“I-10 South to 410 transition where Callaghan feeds in,” Gail Taylor told MySA. “Or dangerous disappearing lane on I-10 North near Huebner.”
The Northeast Side of San Antonio is experiencing a commercial and residential boom. Well, it has been for years, but that’s now expanding to the city’s farther reaches – hitting and even crossing the Loop 1604 boundary. As a result, once-rural roads are in need of traffic control improvements.
The intersection of Lookout and Toepperwein roads, a few blocks north of the Interstate 10 and I-35 crossing, is a major pain point for people affected by this urban sprawl. These roads used to be mostly used by large trucks or by residents on the outskirts of the city’s density, but it’s now a dangerous intersection without any traffic signals. In fact, it’s now a four-lane road crossing a two-lane road, with a single pair of stop signs on either end of Lookout Road.
“Cars fly, then Lookout traffic bunches with commuters as [Interstate] 35 and 1604 clog up,” Kelly Coughlin told MySA, with another local saying TxDOT vowed a solution by the end of 2025 that’s never come to fruition. “Then you have train tracks paralleling Lookout causing congestion [and] creating high risk crossings and turns.”