Interstate 37 - History

History

Prior to I-37, the routing between Corpus Christi and San Antonio was covered by SH 9 from Corpus Christi to Three Rivers and US 281 from Three Rivers to San Antonio. Beginning in 1971, sections of SH 9 were officially removed from the State Highway System as I-37 was completed. No sections of US 281 were removed from the State Highway System as a result of the construction of I-37, but the two do share the same alignment at two different points between San Antonio and Three Rivers. Also, US 281 was rerouted onto I-37 in San Antonio in 1978.

I-37 was first designated in 1959 to provide a route between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. Construction began in the 1960s and the route was completed by the 1980s. The first sections of the freeway completed were in Corpus Christi. The freeway was completed from its southern terminus to 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to the west at the Port Avenue overpass to include the SH 286 interchange in 1963. In 1964, the freeway was extended another 1.1 miles (1.8 km) westward with the completion of the overpasses at Nueces Bay Boulevard and Buddy Lawrence Boulevard. By 1965, the freeway had been extended west 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to Navigation Boulevard. In 1966, the interchange at SH 358 was complete, as were the mainlanes to Corn Products Road, 1.0 mile (1.6 km) west of the SH 358 interchange. By 1968, the freeway had been completed an additional 8.1 miles (13.0 km) further west to Callicoatte Road. The southbound I-37 bridge over the Nueces River was built in 1933 for US 77 when it was first routed through Corpus Christi. The northbound bridge was built in 1958 with the expansion of US 77 to four lanes.

Construction in San Antonio also began in the 1960s and was completed in 1972. The first sections were completed in 1967 to include the portion just south of I-410 at the US 181 interchange. The section from Steves Avenue north to Florida Street to include the I-10 interchange was also complete in 1967. In 1968, the section south of I-410 was extended south to Loop 1604. In 1969, the two sections were connected with the completion of overpasses at Goliad Road, Pecan Valley Drive, Fair Avenue and Hackberry Street as well as the completion of the interchanges at I-410 and Loop 13. The last sections left were on the east side of downtown. The downtown overpasses at Durango Boulevard, Commerce Street and the overpass stretching from Houston Street to Jones Avenue were all completed in 1972. The last portion completed in San Antonio was the stack interchange at I-35. With the completion of the interchange in 1972, the city had a freeway loop in conjunction with I-10 and I-35 around the central business district of the city. At the time construction began in July 1969, the I-35 interchange was the largest highway construction project in state history at $11 million ($65 million in 2007).

The rural sections of the freeway were completed later than those in the urban areas. Construction of the highway in Corpus Christi and Nueces County continued north over the Nueces River into San Patrico County. The interchange at US 77 was completed in 1969. The road that was already in existence along this stretch, SH 9, would be utilized as a frontage road as many of the bridges along this stretch were from when SH 9 was built in the 1930s. The main lanes were extended northward to SH 234 in 1969. By 1970, the freeway had been extended as far north as SH 188. In 1971, I-37 reached FM 888 and service to the city of Mathis. During the mid-1970s, the southern section and northern section were both being extended. The southern section was extended northward inn Live Oak County to US 59 in 1975 and FM 799 in 1976. The northern section saw completion in Atascosa County to FM 541 in 1975 and FM 1099 in 1976. By the early 1980s, the freeway was nearly complete. In 1980, the interchange at US 281 southeast of Pleasanton was complete. With the completion of the interchange at SH 72 and other bridges in the Pleasanton area in 1981, I-37 was complete.