By ZACK HEDRICK

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SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio is growing, and state traffic experts say so is traffic congestion and it's happening much faster.

With plans for major highway expansions planned, on Monday city leaders discussed whether high occupancy vehicle or HOV lanes would be worth the investment.

There was a proposed roll road expansion planned for I-10 but now a city councilman says that plan is out the window.

Natives to San Antonio know where the choke points are on the freeways.

"No one likes waiting in traffic you know?" said Stephen Allen, who drives frequently on I-10 north of 1604.

Natives like Allen who travel on I-10 from Ralph Fair Road to La Cantera Parkway every day.

"It'll start around here sometimes depending on the time of the day," said Allen. "And then going back that way it's really not too bad until it starts getting down towards the 410 exchange."

District 8 city councilman Ron Nirenberg says the six mile stretch of I-10 is one of the fastest growing corridors in the entire country.

"You can see it every day if you travel out there and if you live out there you've been feeling it for years," said Nirenberg.

City leaders were planning to expand the six mile corridor with a two part, toll-road proposal with the price tag of $200 million dollars

But that plan is now off the table.

"We now have removed tolls from the design of the I-10 corridor but we are also now keeping HOV components," said Nirenberg. "Some sort of congestion management so that we're not just simply adding capacity."

The proposed plan will add four lanes, two on each side from Ralph Fair Road to 1604.

Under the original proposal the Metropolitan Planning Organization says that part of the plan would cost $70 million dollars.

"The source of funding is through local and state funding the major portion of course being TxDOT," said Nirenberg.

Councilman Nirenberg along with other city leaders discussed the intricacies of HOV lanes with state experts as two of the four lanes are planned for HOV use.

Reaction to the high occupancy lanes is mixed, but one thing remains certain.

"Traffic is traffic," said Allen. "You just got to deal with it."

A spokesperson for the MPO says city leaders are tentatively scheduled to take action on the expansion on March 28.

The project costs $40 million.

The planning organization will also begin holding a series of public meetings in late February and March to learn more about their transportation improvement programs.





List of meetings:

Wednesday, February 24, 2016 6 - 8 PM

VIA Metro Center Community Room

1021 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, TX





Thursday, February 25, 2016 6 - 8 PM

Leon Valley Conference Center

6421 Evers Road, Leon Valley, TX





Tuesday, March 1, 2016 6 - 8 PM

New Braunfels Civic Center

375 S. Castell Ave, New Braunfels, TX





Wednesday, March 2, 2016 6 - 8 PM

Boerne Civic Center

820 Adler Road, Boerne, TX





Thursday, March 3, 2016 6 - 8 PM

Seguin - Guadalupe County Coliseum

950 S. Austin St, Seguin, TX