by JEN BIUNDO

After the conversion this week to one-way access roads along portions of IH-35, emergency officials say they hope to see a decline in wrecks, such as this collision last week caused when a driver failed to yield to oncoming traffic on the two-way frontage road. (Photo by Jen Biundo)

Emergency responders say a collision between a Volkswagen Bug and an 18-wheeler last Wednesday morning underscores the danger of the area’s outdated two-way access roads, many of which were turned one-way this week.

Tuesday afternoon, Texas Department of Transportation employees restriped frontage roads from FM 2001 to FM 1626 and put up one-way signs. The move may cause headaches for some drivers who will have to find a new commuter route, but for emergency workers who’ve cleaned up dozens of wrecks caused by the two-way access roads, it’s a welcome change.

“We’re extremely happy it’s going one way,” said Buda Fire Chief Clay Huckaby, who responded to the Wednesday collision. “I know it’s going to be an upfront nuisance for the citizens to learn how to navigate the new roads, but the safety issues are astronomical.”

In decades past, the state constructed two-way access roads through rural areas with interstate overpasses staggered miles apart. But as Hays County has urbanized and traffic has increased, the two-way access roads have been blamed for dozens of accidents and a number of fatalities.

The wreck last Wednesday occurred when a group of three cars, driven by employees of the San Antonio Auto Zoo auction, failed to yield to the 18-wheeler entering northbound IH-35 at the 217 on-ramp, said Department of Public Safety troopers investigating the collision.

Huckaby said the wreck victim was pinned inside her vehicle, but was uninjured, alert and talking. She was transported to Brackenridge Hospital for observation. With the left side of the vehicle crushed, any passengers likely would have been killed, Huckaby said.

The driver of the 18-wheeler, Julian Anchondo of CanUsaMex Transportation, based out of Colorado, said he was heading northbound on the access road and had started shifting lanes to enter the on-ramp at the 217 entrance, when the three southbound vehicles failed to yield.

Anchondo said he tried to swerve out of the way and locked his brakes, and saw the silver Beetle also swerving to avoid him, but the two vehicles collided.

“When you’ve got an 80,000-pound vehicle you’re not going to be able to do much to stop,” said DPS Trooper Andrew Martinez. “The driver of the 18-wheeler was not at fault.”

In addition to drivers causing wrecks by failing to yield to cars entering or exiting the interstate, Huckaby said the two-way access roads make it possible for motorists to enter the interstate on the exit ramp and drive the wrong way, often causing fatal collisions.

“I know it’s a mess out there right now but once everybody sees the benefit maybe their minds will change,” Huckaby said. “Right now safety is the main priority.”

TxDOT spokesperson John Hurt said that workers were restriping the roads and wrapping up the transition Tuesday afternoon, and he had not received reports of any accidents. The conversion was slated to be complete before the evening rush hour.

Frontage roads between FM 1626 and San Marcos will be converted to one-way early next year, with the contract let in January and the work starting in March, Hurt said. Hwy 81, which functions as an access road set off from the interstate, will remain two-way.

The frontage roads had to be transitioned to one-way prior to work on bridges and overpasses that will ease traffic woes on the newly converted access roads, Hurt said.

Construction will start next month on a new overpass at Cement Plant Road, with work taking about nine months. Currently, motorists trying to cross over IH-35 must travel all the way down to Windy Hill Road at the Kyle Home Depot.

The two-lane Windy Hill Road overpass will be reconstructed to a five-lane bridge complete in December of 2011, Hurt said. Meanwhile, the Windy Hill and FM 1626 turnarounds are scheduled for completion in July.

Road work Ahead
Construction will start next month on a new overpass at Cement Plant Road, with work taking about nine months. Currently, motorists trying to cross over IH-35 must travel all the way down to Windy Hill Road at the Kyle Home Depot. Read the Hays Free Press for more road updates.