Sunday, April 28, 2024
The Granbury City Council has agreed to work with the county on a plan by Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson that Wilson hopes will save lives and prevent future accidents.
The interlocal agreement involves the installation of a 440-foot right turn lane at Acton Highway and FM 4, where Wilson said many accidents have occurred, including two fatalities in 2021.
The commissioner said that he personally stopped to offer assistance at the site of two accidents there. One was a five-vehicle crash last September, and the other was a three-vehicle accident last December. The one in December resulted in multiple injuries, he said, with one person airlifted and others transported to a hospital via ground ambulance.
Wilson said he has been in discussions with the Texas Department of Transportation “for well over a year” in an effort to have traffic control lights installed at that location. He said officials with TxDOT indicated that its budget currently does not have the funds to grant the request but that if a right turn lane is in place, the state agency might be able to find the money to install traffic lights.
The city’s assistance is due to the location being “barely” within the city limits, according to Wilson.
Loose ends on the agreement were tied up during this week’s regular meeting of the Commissioners Court. Granbury Mayor Jim Jarratt and City Manager Chris Coffman were in attendance and spoke briefly in praise of the collaboration, and Coffman presented a check for just under $5,000 to the county auditor.
Per the interlocal agreement, the city is paying for the materials needed for the turn lane and the county’s Road Operations department will provide the labor.
Coffman noted that installing the traffic control lights will cost the state between $300,000 and $400,000.
The Commissioners Court approved the partnership at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14 but voted on the matter again at Tuesday’s meeting because some minor tweaks were made to the verbiage of the agreement. The court unanimously approved the idea both times.
The Granbury City Council unanimously approved the plan at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Wilson said that TxDOT indicated possibly installing the light before the end of the year or during the first quarter of 2024, but he feels that installation of the turn lane might motivate TxDOT to move up the timeline.
