SAN ANTONIO — San Antonians who expect to drive through the west side of town this weekend, heads up: Construction will shut down a section of I-410 at Texas 151, and transportation officials say the closures will most likely lead to traffic backups and delays.
Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation say the construction work will shut down all lanes of 410 between Marbach Road and Military Drive in both directions. Drivers will be forced to exit onto frontage roads before eventually re-entering the highway beyond Marbach or Military.
The construction will also close down the 151 eastbound frontage road from 410 to Ingram Road; drivers on the state highway will be briefly detoured onto adjacent streets.
The closures start 8 p.m. Friday and are expected to last until 5 a.m. Monday as crews continue to build new flyover ramps. More information on the project as a whole can be found here.
The impact of the shutdown is being felt by businesses already struggling to withstand the pandemic and its economic fallout.
Dave Saylor's Acadiana Cafe is located in the middle of closure. He said his Cajun Seafood restaurant has prospered at its location near I-410 and Marbach Road.
But the weekend project is going to make getting to his crispy catfish and crawfish etouffee tough for customers, though not impossible. Saylor said he's used to it.
"If they close the main lanes or if we have closure on the access road, we see our sales or customer count go up and down," Saylor said.
According to Saylor, he remembers a shutdown that drove his profit down 30%.
His restaurant, like many others, is still trying to weather the economic storm created by the coronavirus.
"It's been hard," he said.
Saylor said support from loyal customers, community members and employees have helped him keep his business alive during brutal punches to his bottom line.
"Whenever you see your sales drop 80% and stay that way a while," he said.
Saylor is looking forward to the completion of the roadway project.