A recent review of fatal car crashes across Texas found a 4-mile stretch of I-35 in North Austin is the fourth-deadliest road in Texas.
Financial analysis company MoneyGeek in late June published its Texas Fatal Accident Study, which the company composed by examining more than 10,000 fatal crashes across the state from 2017-19.
According to the report, there were 14 fatal incidents on I-35 from the interchange at US 290 to the Yager Lane exit, equaling 3.1 fatal incidents per mile.
That made that stretch of I-35 through North Austin the fourth most deadly roadway in Texas, and the only road in Austin among the 10 deadliest roads in the state, per the report.
Travis County had the fifth most fatal traffic incidents from 2017-19 of all counties in Texas, with 337 incidents resulting in 357 deaths, the report found. In that timespan, 36 fatal crashes occurred on I-35, making it the most deadly road in Austin.
Drunken driving crashes accounted for more than one-fifth of crash-related deaths in Travis County. Statewide, approximately 25% of the 10,137 fatal incidents from 2017-19 were because of drunken driving, according to MoneyGeek.
Read more here.
Milestone met as Four Points bypass partially opens
Nearly two years after local officials broke ground on the project, the first section of a bypass road from RM 620 to RM 2222 is now open to traffic.
The Texas Department of Transportation said in a July 19 news release the northbound portion of the new bypass road is now open for use by the public. Vehicles driving northbound on RM 620 can now use the bypass to access eastbound RM 2222.
The southbound section of the bypass road will open at an unspecified later date, according to TxDOT. Bradley Wheelis, public information officer for TxDOT, said crews need to re-strip and install a turn bay for southbound RM 620 traffic before the southbound bypass lanes can open. Final work on the project is expected to finish by early 2022.
The bypass road cuts south of the existing RM 620 and RM 2222 intersection, just north of Steiner Ranch Boulevard, and will work to draw traffic flow away from the northernmost intersection. The new bypass intersects with RM 2222 near River Place Boulevard.
A 2020 TxDOT study estimated that travel times could decrease by as much as 60% with improvements that include the new bypass. In an email to Community Impact Newspaper, Wheelis stated TxDOT anticipates more than 36,000 drivers will use the bypass on an average daily basis once both directions of the roadway open. The state projects that number to increase to 54,300 average daily drivers by 2038.
Read more here.
ONGOING PROJECTS
Parkfield Drive improvements
City crews finished pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements from Rundberg Lane to Payton Gin Road in late June. The city will next build pedestrian crossing islands nearby.
Timeline: May-late summer 2021
Read more about this project here.
RM 2222 improvements
Traffic was moved to the south side of RM 2222 in early July. State crews are working on excavation and road reconstruction from River Place Boulevard to the upcoming bypass.
Timeline: winter 2018-summer 2021
