Regional Transportation Beyond Highways: How San Antonio and South Texas Are Moving People and Goods

For most San Antonians, transportation is experienced daily on familiar corridors such as Loop 1604, I-35, I-10, and U.S. 281. Commute times, construction zones, and congestion shape how people plan their days. But beyond highways alone, a broader network of airport expansion, transit planning, freight movement, and local mobility projects is quietly influencing how the region moves people and goods.

That broader system is becoming more visible as San Antonio continues to grow.

One of the most tangible examples is at San Antonio International Airport, where long-term expansion plans are now taking physical shape. The construction of the new Terminal C represents the largest airport project in the facility’s history. Designed to increase passenger capacity, improve security flow, and support additional nonstop routes, the new terminal is intended to accommodate continued growth in both leisure and business travel. For travelers, this shows up as construction activity on the north side of the airport today and, eventually, as expanded gate capacity and modernized passenger amenities.

On the ground, public transportation remains a critical piece of regional mobility. VIA Metropolitan Transit continues to advance its long-range system plan, which includes Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) corridors designed to provide faster, more reliable service along high-demand routes. These corridors, combined with expanded park-and-ride facilities on the North, Northwest, and Far West sides, are intended to serve commuters who travel between residential areas and major employment centers such as Downtown, the Medical Center, and large office and industrial hubs.

For residents commuting from outside the city, transportation planning increasingly happens at a regional level rather than city by city. Growth in communities such as Schertz, Cibolo, Universal City, Converse, and New Braunfels has led to coordinated planning focused on corridor capacity, timing, and connectivity. This coordination typically includes aligning road improvements, transit access, and freight movement along shared corridors like I-35, I-10, and State Highway 151, where daily congestion affects thousands of commuters traveling into and out of Bexar County.

Freight movement is another layer of the transportation system that residents may notice indirectly through increased truck traffic or rail activity. San Antonio sits at the intersection of major freight corridors served by national rail carriers such as Union Pacific and BNSF Railway. These rail lines move goods through the region daily, supporting distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and cross-border trade. Rail and highway freight activity together reinforce San Antonio’s role as a logistics hub for South Texas and beyond.

Transportation planning also increasingly extends beyond vehicles. In central and redeveloping areas of the city, projects aimed at making short pedestrian and bicycle trips safer and more accessible are changing how people move locally. Improvements such as expanded sidewalks, protected bike lanes, trail connections, and safer street crossings are being implemented in areas including Downtown, Southtown, the Pearl District, Midtown, and near major institutions such as universities and medical facilities. These projects are designed to support short trips for errands, commuting, and recreation, particularly in walkable neighborhoods.

 

Citywide trail and mobility efforts, including extensions of the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System, also contribute to this shift by linking neighborhoods, parks, and commercial areas. For residents, these improvements often translate into safer routes for walking or cycling that reduce reliance on short car trips.

Behind many of these decisions is coordination among regional planning organizations. The Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO) plays a central role in setting transportation priorities across Bexar County and surrounding counties. AAMPO works with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, VIA, TXDOT, and neighboring municipalities to determine which projects receive funding and how long-term growth is accommodated. While this process happens largely behind the scenes, it directly affects which corridors are expanded, where transit investments are made, and how regional mobility evolves.

For households across the region, these transportation systems are not abstract. They influence commute times, access to jobs and schools, the ability to reach healthcare and services, and the cost of daily travel. As development continues in suburban and exurban areas, balancing highway capacity with transit, freight, and local mobility options remains a central challenge.

Looking ahead, transportation in South Texas is expected to change through incremental, overlapping projects rather than a single transformative shift. Airport expansion, transit upgrades, freight coordination, and neighborhood mobility improvements will continue to shape how residents experience the region, often in subtle ways that become part of everyday life.

For San Antonians, the future of transportation is less about one project and more about how these systems work together, whether the trip is across town, to a neighboring city, or well beyond the region.