Expand all of State Hwy. 361

Editorial


Let’s talk about State Hwy. 361 between Port Aransas and Park Road 22.

Widening it to five lanes from Avenue G to Beach Access Road 1 is a good start, and adding intermittent passing lanes from there to the intersection of Park Road 22 will be a help, but only a band-aide.

Neither is enough.

A horrific tragedy on Sunday that forever scarred the lives of two families brought into sharp focus the immediate need for expansion of the entire length of the highway. While a four-lane highway would not guarantee accidents like this won’t happen, it would certainly reduce the odds and the frequency.

Port Aransas is hosting millions of visitors each year, and that number is growing. With the opening of the Schlitterbahn water park just 18 miles south of town on North Padre Island, the number of vehicles traversing the roadway between the two destinations will increase exponentially. The increase in traffic on what is now a two-lane highway also increases the odds of more accidents on a road that already has seen too many.

State Hwy. 361 is one of two primary routes from Port Aransas to the mainland. It is used not only by those millions of tourists to access their vacation destination, but by residents who use it to commute to and from work, to access goods and services not available on our island as well as to access hospitals. It also is a hurricane evacuation route.

While the speed limit is 60 mph, vehicles travel at speeds from 40 mph to 70 mph and more. This results in vehicles being passed on the left under unsafe conditions and on the right, which is never safe. With two lanes each way, passing slower moving vehicles would be better accommodated, and the temptation to pass on the right would be eliminated.

Congressman Blake Farenthold has indicated his support for expanding the remainder of the highway to at least four lanes. Port Aransas Mayor Keith McMullin and State Rep. Todd Hunter both said they support it. And Corpus Christi should have no trouble getting behind it.

It will be, of course, a matter of money.

However, lives cannot be measured in dollars, and putting our residents and visitors in harm’s way is irresponsible no matter the reason.

We encourage the Texas Department of Transportation to put this on the front burner, and the Texas Legislature to lend its support to that effort.

Starting with May 3, the death toll is one. And that’s one too many.

–mhj



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