by MOSES LEOS III
Correction: In the print edition of this article, it was written that $4 million dollars of money from the State would be used for the widening of FM 967. In actuality, $4 million dollars from Hays County will be utilized for this project. Apologies for the oversight.
With winding turns, blind curves and narrow access along the two-way thoroughfare, Farm to Market Road 967 has long been a difficult stretch of road for local residents to navigate, especially as growth turns this into a daily gridlock.
But help could soon be on the way, as the city of Buda, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Hays County are trying to alleviate this problem by widening FM 967 to a three lane, undivided roadway between FM 1626 and Loop 4 (Main Street).
The widening was part of the Buda Transportation Master Plan (TMP), completed in February 2013. The study, aided by information from TxDOT, the city of Buda and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), estimates that by the year 2035, close to 89,000 vehicles will travel through FM 967 from FM 1626 to Main Street on a daily basis.
In 2011, TxDOT estimated that an average of nearly 18,000 vehicles traveled the roadway daily, with traffic increasing every year since.
“Traffic volume has really picked up,” Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams said. “With improvements being made along (FM) 1626, (FM) 967 will see residual traffic from that roadway. We hope that by widening 967, it will help relieve local roads.”
While alleviating traffic is the primary goal of the widening of 967, safety also played a factor in reconstruction. In the Transportation Master Plan, citizens living in the Garlic Creek and Cullen Country subdivisions voiced concerns about safety issues. The lack of a central turn lane and traffic signal lights make entering and exiting these subdivisions, located on FM 967, a hazardous task.
“So many subdivisions line (FM) 967. (As a result) there have been quite a few accidents,” Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said. “With no turn lane or shoulders, the safety aspect is a driving force for the expansion.”
The number of accidents occurring along 967 back up Jones’ claim. Based on information obtained from TxDOT, since 2010, a total of 37 accidents have occurred along 967, from 1626 to Main Street. Two of those accidents were reported as incapacitating injury crashes, with an additional two causing a fatality.
The most recent occurred in 2012, when a delivery truck travelling along 967 attempted to avoid a car that had slowed to enter the Creekside Villas Apartment complex. The delivery truck hit the driver side of the vehicle driven by Cheryl Ann Bobick, causing it to careen into a ditch. The resulting accident claimed the life of Eileen Winifred Stier.
For Hays County and the city, the need to make 967 safer is the ultimate goal, Jones said. “Something must be done.”
The proposed expansion of FM 967 calls for the roadway to expand to three lanes, with a middle turning lane and shoulders. The reconstruction would level some of the grades that make FM 967 treacherous, as well as straighten the large curve between Cullen Boulevard and Hannens Way. Future improvements discussed in the TMP call for signal lights at the entrances of subdivisions and a possible addition of a bike lane.
According to Jones, approximately $4 million from Hays County will be utilized to help reconstruct FM 967, with TxDOT funding $500,000 for engineering and design. TxDOT hired the Parsons-Brinckerhoff engineering firm for the reconstruction design work. “In discussion with TxDOT, the widening of the road itself is encouraging,” Williams said. “If all goes according to plan, construction would begin in January 2014 … We do not anticipate it to be too difficult a project. We have most of the right-of-way available.”
According to the Master Plan, the widening of this stretch of 967 would involve 90 feet of right-of-way.
The Master Plan also calls for the preservation of the natural beauty along FM 967. The goal for all parties involved is to “minimize impact to historic trees,” according to the TMP.
“Around Garlic Creek and Cullen Country, there are some trees where decisions have to be made on which side of the road to widen,” Williams said.
However, Williams and Jones both understand that the widening of 967 is paramount to the development of Buda and Hays County. Without it, the area cannot feasibly maintain the steady growth it has seen.
Williams said inconveniences will occur during the future construction phase, but added, “The goal is to inconvenience as less as possible.”
“You have to look at the end result,” Williams said. “The improvement will help the quality of life. We think it will be key to the development of Buda.”
Construction on FM 967 is projected to be completed in late 2014 to early 2015.
