Since 2016, nearly 1,000 drivers and passengers have been in involved in 345 car accidents along FM 1626, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation.
FM 1626 stretches through the land west of I-35 from Manchaca to north Kyle, and sections of the road have been under construction for improvements since 2012.
The number of car wrecks that occur on the road is one reason the county moved forward with the improvements in the first place, Hays County Commissioner Mark Jones said.
“Ever since we’ve been having the growth we’ve experienced, FM 1626 hasn’t been able to handle (the resulting traffic),” Jones said. “That’s why the county is paying for the improvement. TxDOT will pay it back, but we felt like we couldn’t wait because of the amount of people that use FM 1626.”
Improvements being made on FM 1626 include widening and adding lanes and shoulders, installing a continuous turn lane through most of the length of the road, widening bridges, adding sidewalks and more.
According to TxDOT numbers, at least 103 of the crashes on FM 1626 involved distracted drivers.
“My observation says we still have a lot of people using their cell phone while driving, more than I would have thought,” he said.
With construction still on track to wrap up in either December or January, Jones warned Hays County residents to keep an eye out for workers on the road and to stay alert.
“Be patient and be careful out there,” he said.
