I-35 NEX Central Is Halfway Done — What That Means for San Antonio Real Estate Right Now

If you own property near I-35 north of San Antonio, or you've been watching that corridor for an investment opportunity, there's a meaningful update worth your attention. TxDOT officials have confirmed that the $1.5 billion I-35 NEX Central project is a little over halfway complete as of May 2025. Bridge foundations are 70% done, columns are 75% complete, and the full project is anticipated to finish by fall 2027. That puts a major infrastructure transformation roughly two and a half years from crossing the finish line.

The project covers 9.5 miles of I-35 between I-410 North and FM 3009 in Schertz. That stretch connects the northern edge of San Antonio proper through the fast-growing communities of Selma, Live Oak and Schertz. If you're not familiar with that geography, think of it as the spine connecting the San Antonio metro to the New Braunfels and Austin corridors. What happens on that highway has a direct effect on the people and properties on either side of it.

For real estate investors, the halfway point is significant for a specific reason. Early-stage infrastructure projects carry uncertainty. Are timelines real? Will funding hold? Two and a half years from an anticipated completion date, with foundations and columns already well advanced, the risk profile of that uncertainty shrinks considerably. Investors who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for proof of progress now have something concrete to look at.

The communities most directly in play include Schertz, Selma and Live Oak, along with parts of northeast San Antonio in ZIP codes like 78233, 78244 and 78154. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD serves much of this area and has long been attractive to families relocating from other parts of Texas and beyond. Easier, faster access along I-35 strengthens the case for settling in these communities rather than pushing further out, which in turn supports steady demand for both owner-occupied homes and rentals.

For buyers, the calculus here is about timing. Properties closer to the highway may carry some current nuisance from ongoing construction — noise, traffic rerouting, dust. That can create a window where prices reflect present inconvenience rather than future convenience. A buyer willing to close now and hold through 2027 may find that the math works in their favor once the project wraps and the area's connectivity story becomes easier to tell.

For sellers in this corridor, the message is more nuanced. If your property has direct line of sight to the construction or sits in a heavily impacted traffic pattern, waiting could make sense. If you're a block or two removed and your home shows well, today's market may offer a better opportunity than you'd expect, because the underlying demand for northeast San Antonio and the Schertz area hasn't softened. Buyers with a longer view are still active.

Landlords and rental property owners should pay attention to what improved highway capacity tends to do to a submarket. When commutes get easier, more employers and employees take notice. The I-35 corridor between San Antonio and the Austin metro has attracted a steady stream of logistics, manufacturing and distribution activity. A faster, more reliable highway means that workforce has more flexibility about where it lives. Rental demand in Live Oak, Selma and Schertz could strengthen as that workforce expands and looks for housing within reasonable reach of job centers on both ends of the highway.

For existing homeowners in these ZIP codes who aren't buying or selling anytime soon, the news is simply reassuring. Infrastructure of this scale adds long-term value to a community. Better roads mean better access to retail, healthcare and employment. School districts benefit when a community's economic base strengthens. None of that happens overnight, but a project that's past the halfway point and tracking toward a fall 2027 completion is no longer a speculative promise. It's a construction site you can drive past and watch taking shape.

The honest caveat worth stating is that large infrastructure projects can face delays. TxDOT's fall 2027 target is an anticipation, not a guarantee. Anyone making a financial decision based on a specific completion date is taking on some risk. The smarter frame is to treat the project's progress as a positive signal for the corridor's trajectory, not as a locked-in event to build a spreadsheet around.

What this project does confirm, regardless of the exact finish date, is that TxDOT, the state and local partners have committed serious capital to making this stretch of I-35 function better for decades to come. For the neighborhoods, homeowners and investors along that 9.5-mile corridor, that commitment is worth understanding and worth factoring into your next real estate decision.