By Sylvia Hernandez
Tiny, waving construction flags welcome motorists exiting Interstate 37 at Southeast Military Drive near Brooks City-Base Campus, adorning the grassy areas along the north and southbound exit ramps and highway embankments. The colorful, eye-catching flags are all part of a pending Texas Department of Transportation project.
Gregg Granato, TxDOT representative for this project, said this is a landscape venture that will include trees, shrubs and other drought-tolerant plants.
After TxDOT crews surveyed and prepped the area, work was slated to begin last August. However, because of harsh drought conditions, the plans were postponed, Granato said.
“A contractor has already been selected and the plants have been ordered,” Granato said. “Now we’re just waiting for the weather to warm up to move forward with this project.”
The work is scheduled to resume in the spring, he said.
This landscape plan will be funded by the Green Ribbon Project, an ongoing state program initiated by TxDOT in 1999.
It was created to provide a landscape master plan for highways and related rights-of-way in non-attainment, and also near non-attainment, counties in Texas.
Chris Chambers, San Antonio District Landscape architect, said this means that the program is meant to target counties in the state that have air quality issues.
“Tree planting and landscaping not only helps improve the air quality,” Chambers said, “the area will also look more appealing.”
Chambers added that the Green Ribbon Project receives funds annually based on one-half of 1 percent of TxDOT’s construction costs from the previous year.
“This year’s allocation is roughly about $630,000,” he said. “It’s enough money for the Interstate 37 project and one other.”
The other landscape project will be along U.S. Highway 281 near Jones Maltsberger Road.
