Tuesday, April 23, 2024
If there is strength in numbers, then last week’s turnout at the TEX-21 U.S. Highway 377 Corridor Coalition conference was a show of muscle.
More than 170 people from across Texas, including state lawmakers, attended the event hosted by Granbury and Hood County officials. It was held Friday, July 29 at the Lake Granbury Conference Center.
“I think the event was extremely successful,” County Judge Ron Massingill said Tuesday. “I really think that something good is going to come out of it.”
TEX-21 is a transportation infrastructure alliance. Its 377 coalition was recently formed through the efforts of local officials in hopes that a group of stakeholders, speaking in one voice, can convince state leaders to prioritize improvements to the thoroughfare.
“I could not have been more pleased with the turnout, the content and the conversation that came after that,” Granbury Mayor Jim Jarratt said. “And now the work begins. We have to make sure that we continue with that momentum.”
Twenty-five cities were represented, and the audience included 10 mayors, eight county judges, and representatives of two universities, in addition to county commissioners and others, according to Jarratt.
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and State Rep. Glenn Rogers, R-Palo Pinto, were there, as was a staffer of State Rep. Shelby Slawson. The Stephenville Republican will become Hood County’s representative next year through redistricting.
U.S. Highway 377 spans 461 miles through Texas from Mexico to Oklahoma, crossing seven Texas Department of Transportation districts, 15 counties and 32 cities. It is an important route not just for motorists but for the transport of goods.
Increased traffic caused by explosive population growth is part of the problem with 377, but so is safety.
According to TxDOT, 70% of the thoroughfare is two lanes, undivided.
Between 2017 and 2021, 12,422 vehicle accidents occurred on the highway, including 116 fatal crashes, according to TxDOT statistics. The number of fatal accidents in 2021 was twice the number of 2020.
Improvements to the highway are important for Granbury and Hood County. In 2018, the county was deemed the ninth fastest growing county in the country by the U.S. Census Bureau, based on growth that occurred between July 1, 2017, and July 1 of that year.
According to TxDOT, Granbury is one of the top three crash areas that account for 50% of the total crashes in the 377 study area. Thirty-three percent of fatal crashes occurred between Stephenville and Granbury.
Granbury Police Chief Mitch Galvan said that from Jan. 1, 2021, through July 27, 2022 — two days before the conference — his officers worked 840 accidents on 377. Of those, two were fatalities and 287 were considered major accidents, he said.
TxDOT plans to widen a nine-mile stretch of 377 in Granbury from four lanes to six but the first phase isn’t scheduled to begin until 2026. City and county officials hope to speed that up.
Cresson Mayor Teena Conway noted that growth is exploding in Cresson, too. She said that when she was a child, she would routinely cross 377 on her bicycle to buy milk and bread.
“Now, that would be a death trap,” she said.
Conway, Massingill, Jarratt and City Manager Chris Coffman, one of TEX-21’s nine vice chairs, were part of a nine-member coalition discussion panel during the almost daylong conference.
Another panel discussion included Caroline Mays, TxDOT’s director of planning and multimodal systems, and representatives of the seven TxDOT districts traversed by 377.
The district representatives “had never been in the same room together” before, Jarratt told the Hood County News.
Other current and former local elected officials who attended the workshop were county commissioners Kevin Andrews, Ron Cotton, Jack Wilson and Dave Eagle; Mayor Pro-Tem Trish Reiner; councilmen Greg Corrigan and Steven Vale; former councilman Mickey Parson; former mayor David Southern; and former Precinct 4 Commissioner Steve Berry.
During their time in office, the former elected officials worked to address the growing problems with 377.
A FORCE
Although local officials have long been involved with TEX-21, Jarratt, who took office last summer, told the HCN that he began participating at the encouragement of Coffman. He said that TEX-21’s David Dean of Dean International, Inc. public policy consultants asked him to take charge of forming a coalition to advocate for improvements to U.S. Highway 377.
Jarratt said that Massingill has accompanied him to meet with mayors and other leaders in communities impacted by the highway. The Comanche native said that the road trips are not “costing the citizens here a penny” because he uses the excursions to visit friends.
The Hood County Commissioners Court, over which Massingill presides, provided food for the conference. Attendees were treated to breakfast and a hot lunch catered by Hard Eight BBQ.
Although none of Hard Eight’s five locations are in Hood County, Massingill claimed bragging rights because owner Vicki Nivens lives in Granbury and owns Hotel Lucy near the conference center.
The conference was an opportunity for local officials to not only showcase Granbury as a tourism destination but to also solidify the new 377 coalition as a force to be reckoned with.
Berry, who has been out of office for four years and was instrumental in securing funding for the Cresson bypass, said he believes the 377 coalition will “build traction.” He said that he is “super proud” of the efforts being made by current leaders.
The former commissioner advised residents to be a “constant reminder” to state lawmakers that issues with 377 need to be addressed.
“The sad part is we can have all the support in the world from the City Council and Commissioners Court, but by 2026 who will be serving or on those teams to keep the momentum?” Berry said. “Overall, it is a step in the right direction. I know it took 11 years of constant reminders at these types of meetings to finally push Cresson off the start phase.”
The Cresson bypass, which will circumvent the railroad switching station at 377 and State Highway 171, is expected to open to motorists late next year.
