TxDOT to study part of Hwy. 361




Vehicles travel on State Highway 361 near Whataburger in Port Aransas on Friday, Jan. 27. Highway officials are expected to study safety issues in this area. Staff photo by Kathryn Cargo

Vehicles travel on State Highway 361 near Whataburger in Port Aransas on Friday, Jan. 27. Highway officials are expected to study safety issues in this area. Staff photo by Kathryn Cargo

Highway officials will study safety issues associated with the northbound turning lane alignment on State Highway 361 near the intersection of Avenue G in Port Aransas.

Drivers headed south on the highway often get in the northbound left-turn lane when they are making a turn into the Whataburger entrance. This puts drivers at risk of a head-on crash as northbound vehicles could be getting in the lane to turn left onto Avenue G.

The proper way to turn into the Whataburger entrance for a driver headed south on the highway is to wait in the inside southbound lane, said Rick Adams, city Development Services Director.

There is no center turn lane in front of Whataburger and CVS Pharmacy, which is across the highway. There are two southbound lanes. Northbound lanes include a left-turn lane, a lane for proceeding straight and a right-turn lane.

“It’s posing a head-on (crash) risk for those vehicles because of this misalignment, because of these markings,” Adams said. “People coming in, if they do the right thing, are really being impacted by people heading out of town that (are) coming into these lanes to turn into Whataburger, and these aren’t for that.”

A vehicle travels on State Highway 361 near Whataburger in Port Aransas on Friday, Jan. 27. Highway officials will study safety issues associated with the northbound turning lane alignment on the highway near the intersection of Avenue G. Drivers headed south on the highway often get in the northbound left-turn lane when they are making a turn into the Whataburger entrance. This puts drivers at risk of a headon crash. Staff photo by Kathryn Cargo

A vehicle travels on State Highway 361 near Whataburger in Port Aransas on Friday, Jan. 27. Highway officials will study safety issues associated with the northbound turning lane alignment on the highway near the intersection of Avenue G. Drivers headed south on the highway often get in the northbound left-turn lane when they are making a turn into the Whataburger entrance. This puts drivers at risk of a head-on crash. Staff photo by Kathryn Cargo

During its meeting Jan. 19, the Port Aransas City Council passed a resolution to request the Texas Department of Transportation to study that portion of the highway. The study will determine if a solution can be implemented to reduce the risk of head-on collisions and other safety issues related to the current turn lane design.

State Highway 361 is a TxDOT roadway.

“I think this resolution will push TxDOT into the right direction, and we can see what they’ll do,” Adams said at the meeting.

TxDOT officials directed city staff to bring the resolution to City Council to initiate the process of TxDOT examining the area.

Rickey Dailey, TxDOT spokesman, said that potential safety issues in the area are to be determined following a review of crash reports.

“The process is to first determine where conflict points might exist and review the narratives of the crash reports to understand and determine any challenges taking place with turning movements,” he said in an email to the South Jetty.

When asked about the timeline of the study, Dailey said TxDOT will begin to look at the crash information and do field reviews in the upcoming months. He said the study will last “a few months.” The study will consist of examining crash reports and determining mitigation efforts, if needed.

Southbound drivers often don’t realize they’re getting in the northbound left-turn lane when waiting to turn into Whataburger because they don’t see the traffic markings, Adams said. Also, if the drivers were to wait in the inside southbound lane, where they legally should, they have to cross three lanes to enter Whataburger.

“There’s been several accidents there, and we could observe on a daily basis the confusing nature,” of the area, Adams said.

Contact Kathryn Cargo at reporter@portasouthjetty.com.

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