SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Department of Transportation in San Antonio announced an emergency closure for the right lane of westbound Interstate 10 due to a pavement failure.
TxDOT said the closure between Boerne Stage and Ralph Fair roads is being taken for "safety reasons."
The closure is expected to take place at 5:30 p.m. and will disrupt the evening commute, TxDOT officials said.
"This closure is anticipated to last through the end of the week (and) we are discussing options now,"Â TxDOT said on its Twitter page.
TxDOTÂ attributed the closure to "longitudinal cracking," and tweeted photos of the roadway. While the cracks in the photos seemed minor, TxDOT said "they've been getting progressively worse the last couple of weeks."
These road failures (called longitudinal cracking) may look small, but we they’ve been getting progressively worse the last couple of weeks. Now we are seeing bulging in the adjacent retaining wall. We wanted to get these checked out and addressed before they get big. pic.twitter.com/y3mBXwgQj8
— TxDOT San Antonio (@TxDOTSanAntonio) May 9, 2018
The group wanted to address the cracks before they got any worse and look inspect the dirt beneath the pavement.
TxDOT advised commuters to plan accordingly while officials discuss a long-term strategy.
EMERGENCY CLOSURE: Right lane of westbound (outbound) I-10 between Boerne Stage Road and Ralph Fair Road. We have a pavement failure and need to close the lane for safety reasons. This closure is anticipated to last through the end of the week. We are discussing options now.
— TxDOT San Antonio (@TxDOTSanAntonio) May 8, 2018
The road failure is NOT a vertical failure; that means chunks of the road are not collapsing. We are mostly seeing growing cracks in the road that’s causing concern. Also seeing a bulge in the adjacent retaining wall, suggesting the problem is in the dirt underneath.
— TxDOT San Antonio (@TxDOTSanAntonio) May 9, 2018