by Moses Leos III
One frequently used intersection near the Buda/Kyle city limits is causing problems for commercial and non-commercial drivers alike. The intersection in question lies at the corner of the southbound Frontage Road of IH-35 and South Loop 4, less than a quarter mile from Exit 217.
Several dozen 18-wheelers and commercial trucks make the right turn to access South Loop 4 each week. And several of those end up toppling over each year, presumably as a result of the extreme turning radius at the intersection.
The most recent incident on May 22 elicited responses from the public at large about the need to address the problem.
“There is a truck in trouble at this same spot nearly every week. The turn needs to be fixed if big trucks are going to continue to turn there,” Margaret Newton Willingham said on the Hays Free Press Facebook page.
“I think that is the intersection that has the very steep ditch and every truck that turns too sharp right flips over,” Rachel Plant said on the same Facebook page post. “It happens too frequently at that intersection.”
Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett is aware of the situation, as the intersection falls under his department’s jurisdiction.
“Every year, there seems to be five or six 18-wheelers that tip over at that intersection,” Barnett said.
According to accident report records obtained from the Kyle Police Department, four 18-wheelers overturned at the intersection in the past eight months.
Problems arise from a tricky right turn, which large trucks seem to have difficulty navigating around. As a result, numerous big rigs and commercial vehicles have tipped over attempting to make the turn.
Buda resident Ronnie New, owner of Southside Wrecker, said he has responded to many of these accidents. According to driver accounts of such incidents, the narrow lane on the two-way South Loop 4 is the primary reason for many tip-overs.
“[The intersection] is not a [conventional] 90 degree turn; drivers have to turn into oncoming traffic to make it,” New said.
Cars stopped at the intersection facing east along South Loop 4 create additional issues for truck drivers, according to New. Drivers are compelled to make the turn in a narrow fashion to avoid a collision. However, a steep ditch and a culvert on the north side of the intersection forces wheels of 18-wheelers to be caught, toppling them over.
Inexperience with the turn often leads to these accidents. Jeremy Cantu, who is in charge of shipping at Texas Lehigh in Buda, talked about the conundrum.
“A lot of these accidents happen if a driver has not made the turn before,” Cantu said. “Especially if a driver is new and inexperienced.”
Cantu went on to say that Texas Lehigh has not had any of their trucks fall victim to the intersection. Texas Lehigh uses the Robert S. Light Boulevard route, as it is an easier way to travel to the plant.
Clean up of such accidents is a time-consuming and costly process. According to New, Southside Wrecker charges anywhere between $4,000 and $15,000 to upright 18-wheelers and commercial vehicles, depending on the load.
The process to upright the trucks is a delicate one. Towing companies must assess what the truck is carrying and how heavy it is. Otherwise, they run the risk of breaking the truck in half.
“If a truck is over 80,000 pounds, then we cannot pick it up,” New said. “It’s like picking up a twenty pound water balloon – it is not going to work.”
Trucks ferrying hazardous materials are dealt with in a different way. Companies have to call fire departments or haz-mat authorities to handle those situations.
During the last accident, it took Southside Wrecker four hours to completely clear South Loop 4.
New said he does not see an immediate fix to the situation, as the only real solution is to widen the road. At the very least, he said signage to warn drivers about the issue would help.
“Unfortunately, there is no way to know about it,” New said. “GPS devices will not tell you about the ditch on the inside of the turn. Drivers new to the area do not find out about it until it is too late.”
On June 5, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)finished adding extra piping and widening the culvert on the interior of the turn. In addition, TxDOT repaved around a portion of exposed pipe, adding to the side of the road.
“It should fix the issues with [South Loop 4],” Kelli Reyna, Public Information Officer for TxDOT Austin District said.
TxDOT is also considering placing signs to warn truck drivers of the sharp turn.
“Signage and delineation is always considered as a possible correction matter,” Ben Englehardt, engineer for the South Travis County TxDOT Office said.
However, widening of the road is not something TxDOT planned, according to Englehardt.
“At this time, we have not looked into widening (South Loop 4),” he said. “We do not have any options to increase the width of the road.”
