Austin-area program clearing minor crashes from roadways may expand to Loop 360

The Texas Department of Transportation’s Austin Highway Emergency Response Operator, or HERO, may expand to Loop 360 next year.

“We have to figure out how to see this program on Loop 360,” said Alison Alter, District 10 Austin City Council member and mayor pro tem. “This is one of the major roads where it's not there yet. Given all the construction we're going to be having, getting those roads cleared quickly is going to be even more imperative.”

The HERO is a roadside assistance program that provides safety and congestion relief along major Austin roads, clearing crash scenes, and providing on-scene incident management and motorist services. Alter asked about Loop 360 inclusion when Jeff Morton, program manager for HERO in the Austin district, presented a report about the HERO at Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s board meeting at the Junior League of Austin building on Loop 360 on Nov. 14.

As previously reported by Community Impact, Loop 360 will undergo significant transformation over the next 10-15 years as an intersection improvement project seeks to alleviate traffic congestion and increase road safety.

The HERO program was established in 2010 and is run by TxDOT in partnership with CAMPO. TxDOT shares the $4.3 million annual cost of the program with CAMPO. Since 2017, Serco, Inc. has managed and operated the HERO program.

The program provides safety and congestion relief along 138 miles of I-35, Hwy. 183, Hwy. 290, Hwy. 71 and MoPac in the greater Austin area. It also provides roadside assistance, such as tire changes, and provides fuel free of charge to get motorists off the shoulder and get them moving. The program also works to prevent secondary crashes.

“Our primary focus is incident management. We provide services to fire, rescue and law enforcement. Our services are to protect the team so they can do their job more efficiently and safely so we can open the roadway up quicker,” Morton said.

The CAMPO region management strategic plan has seven different phases of expansion to other major roads, including Capital of Texas Hwy./Loop 360 and RM 620. Serco’s contract is up for renewal in 2023. The team agreed to go back and look at the phases of expansion and include Loop 360 in the contract renewal conversations.