Idea of a Truck Bypass To Avoid Bluff Revisited

The 18-wheeler accident on the Bluff two Fridays ago spurred another round of questions about a truck bypass around La Grange.

“I’m going to get with TxDOT and see what can be done about trucks on the Bluff,” County Judge Joe Weber told the Record on Tuesday, May 28. “This is becoming almost a weekly thing for us. I think a lot of the drivers are not familiar with the area.”

The wreck two weeks ago involved a driver from New Braunfels who was hauling a load of corn north on US 77. A report from Texas Department of Public Safety said the truck was driving too fast down the windy stretch of highway. The truck rolled on its left side into the southbound lane. Luckily, no one was coming the other way when the truck rolled over. It took emergency workers about four hours to re-open the highway.

Weber, who previously served as executive director of Texas Department of Transportation, said the County has no authority to require trucks to use the recommended detour through Hostyn and FM 609. Cities can designate mandatory truck routes as long as the truck route is located within the city limits. Accordingly, La Grange has no authority to mandate the Hostyn bypass for trucks. 

The detour adds about two miles for trucks passing through La Grange on US 77. Most trucks heading to destinations west on SH 71 probably already use the detour. The detour would cause a slight delay for trucks heading toward FM 159 or east on SH 71.

A mandatory truck detour could cause other traffic problems. Vehicles attempting to turn from Kallus Road onto FM 2436 in Hostyn have little visibility in  either direction. In addition, trucks entering La Grange on FM 609 and heading west must negotiate a difficult left turn on Business 71.

A better route would bring the truck traffic directly to the intersection of Business 71 and the SH 71 Bypass. Such a route was proposed in a 20-year plan recently commissioned by the City of La Grange. 

“A connection from FM 609 to SH 71 could also benefit the City and bypass traffic around the west of town,” the document states. “This connection would help ease the flow of traffic through town and provide an additional freight route around the City. This could also help reduce the number of crashes seen at SH 71 East and FM 609. Planning and construction of this roadway requires coordination with county and state organizations as it lies primarily outside of the City limits.”

A map of the route shows the proposed roadway running from the intersection of SH 71 and the 71 Bypass to FM 609 near Ron’s Automotive.