Abbott Road expansion aims to ease East Bexar County congestion

Bexar County and the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority have a plan to widen Abbott Road in East Bexar County to accommodate the increase in people moving to Saint Hedwig.

The widening of Abbott Road would happen from Graytown Road to FM 1518 and will increase the roads from one lane in each direction to a total of four lanes with turn lanes added where that is needed. The project would also add two bridges to the area, according to Alamo RMA Operations Engineer Reggie Fountain.

“We are looking to eliminate two 100-year floodplain crossings by bridging those crossings to provide unflooded access at all times on Abbott Road,” Fountain said.

Neighbors who live next to Abbott Road said they are looking forward to the improvements.

“I think adding more lanes to that road can give it a bit more of a flow instead of all of us backed up in one line going one way and the other,” neighbor Patricia Romo said.

Another neighbor, Gidardo, mentioned how bad the flooding on Abbott Road can be.

“It’s a lot of accumulation of the water over there,” Gidardo said. “Abbott Road, we can’t use it for two or three days because it’s flooded. We can use only the 1518 exit.”

Romo echoed the issue of flooding near the neighborhood.

“There’s been times where it’s been closed off going the other way, where they close it off because it will get too much water, or you’d have to go all the way around,” Romo said.

The project will be expensive with Fountain sharing an estimate of about $30 million.

“If we get the federal money, it’ll be an 80-20 match,” Fountain said. “80% would be federal money and then 20% would be county, RMA, or some local funding mechanism. The RMA is funded through the vehicle registration fee, so there’s a $10 fee that you pay when you register your vehicle. That’s the money that’s used for these projects.”

Construction won’t begin for about two years, in 2028, but neighbors shared their thoughts on the future added construction in the area.

“It will be an adjustment but it’s not something we’re not used to seeing around here,” Romo said.

KSAT asked about Alamo RMA’s plans to ensure the area is accessible to people who live there with TxDOT construction on and near I-10 near these homes on Abbott Road.

“We would coordinate any kind of closures that we needed at intersections, or if TxDOT was doing a specific closure at 1518 that was gonna affect traffic on Abbott, we would coordinate with them and make sure that there was no impact to people,” Fountain said.

Fountain said the Alamo RMA expects a decision on federal funding before the end of 2026. If federal funding is approved, construction is planned to begin on Abbott Road in 2028 and be complete in 2030.