Three people have died on Highway 361 in one week, and state lawmakers are now pushing the Texas Department of Transportation to accelerate safety improvements on the road.
On Friday, Roberto and Karen Lopez were killed in a four-vehicle crash near the Mayan Princess. Five days earlier, 59-year-old Jarrod Fangman was killed in a head-on collision in Port Aransas when a driver crossed into his lane.
TxDOT's long-term plan would expand the highway from 2 lanes to 4, with a raised median and a shared-use path. The 15-mile project is not set to break ground before2030.
State Rep. Todd Hunter led the full Nueces County delegation — including Rep.Denise Villalobos and Sens. Chuy and Adam Hinojosa — in a meeting with TxDOT and Texas DPS Wednesday to push for faster action. The meeting also included Texas DPS.
"The meeting went constructive, but the meeting's tone is enough talk, let's start walking. The idea is we've talked enough about the safety issues on 361. We've talked enough about how we're going forward, so we're expediting the process," Hunter said.
Hunter said everyone in the meeting was in agreement and that a plan is in place. He described both short-term and long-term tracks moving forward simultaneously, with neither slowing down while public input is collected.
In the short term, drivers will start seeing changes soon, including increased DPS presence and monitoring on 361, new signage, and a possible modification of speed limits. Hunter also said drivers will start seeing text messaging on the roadway.
"I think you're gonna be able to see the short term changes pretty soon," Hunter said."I'm looking at fast, fast, expedited. No more wasting time. Let's go forward."
Hunter said TxDOT will begin planning immediately and is not waiting for the public input period to close before moving forward. He said the goal is to have input collected by the end of summer.
TxDOT plans to open a public input portal by Friday, giving residents two weeks toweigh in on ideas for recon figuring the highway — including crossovers, cross lights and solutions to congestion points. After the two-week input window, an in-person public meeting will be held where residents can bring their ideas directly.
"A lot of the people that use that roadway know exactly what needs to be done,"Hunter said. "The best ideas sometimes come from the public."
Hunter said the delegation, TxDOT and DPS will hold weekly calls to track progress on361.
"Our message to the community is it's time for action. There's no more delay on this.This needs to be a safety issue. We want people to want to drive on that roadway and come to this area," Hunter said.
The ultimate goal, Hunter said, is to make Highway 361 family friendly, people friendly and Texas friendly.
People who drive the road every day say the changes can't come soon enough.
"I think it would be a big help to the community. Less fatalities, less people getting injured, feel safer on the road, as well. Because sometimes it's not you, the bad drivers.Sometimes it's somebody else, so I think that would just help out the community with it being a little safer," Kayan Garcia said.
James Cartwright said he wants urgency to come out of the meeting.
"I want to see, you know, urgency. I want to see that they realize that 2030 is not gonna cut it, that you're gonna lose a lot of lives in between now and 2030,"Cartwright said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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