The Death Trap That Is 290 West

[Wally Pryor 5261]

A couple more fall victim.   Would be interesting to see how many fatalities have occurred over the last 10 years.  I try and avoid the thing at all cost.

Quote

A woman and a man died in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 290 at Signal Hill Drive, just east of the Travis-Hays county line, Austin-Travis County EMS official said. 

The crash happened at 4:24 p.m., EMS officials said. All westbound lanes are closed at the scene, traffic officials said. Deputies could decide to close more lanes as they handle the fatal incident.

Both victims died at the scene, EMS officials said. The woman is estimated to have been in her 40s, and the man is estimated to have been in his 30s.

 

AAS

[Biff Tannen 45687]

Yeah, that shit needs to be top priority for the city/county/whatever.

[SubliminalHorn 6788]

I enjoy taking the back route (homo) when I go to SA because it’s more scenic than 35. But I am definitely in high alert on 290. I’m always picturing a car drifting over and causing a huge wreck. They have got to put in a divider or something because it’s seriously dangerous. 

[SHOOTER12 8810]

I have hated that stretch of road forever.

[SubliminalHorn 6788]

I don’t let my parents take that back way up to Austin from North SA when they visit

[Godzillatron 292]

TxDOT working on improvements but nothing immediate. Unfortunately quick in the highway world is 3-5 years. 

[Iowa Horn 55]

31 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

I have hated that stretch of road forever.

Yeah.  It was dangerous 25 years ago, and quite a bit worse now with lots more traffic.  Every time I hear about an accident on it I cringe because of all the people I know who drive it twice a day.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

15 minutes ago, Iowa Horn said:

Yeah.  It was dangerous 25 years ago, and quite a bit worse now with lots more traffic.  Every time I hear about an accident on it I cringe because of all the people I know who drive it twice a day.

This.  We sold our Sunset Canyon place and moved back in over 15  years ago because of it.  Going to, or supporting those going to,  a 290/RR12 accident related funeral every other month was really wearing on us. 

Edited April 5, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[1978horn 892]

I drive it every day and try to stay in the right lane the whole way.  At least that gives me an extra half a second to react.  We moved out towards Dripping Springs 4 years ago and there has probably been close to 20 people die on that stretch.  We came up on one a couple years ago that had just happened with a dead body laying in the the middle of the road.  My 11 year old still talks about the time we saw the dead body. 

It badly needs to be reworked, but like Godzilla said, it is going to take a while.  It is only going to get worse.  I think I heard about year ago that they are expecting 10k new homes in the next 5 years on 290 west of the Oak Hill Y.

[SHOOTER12 8810]

2 hours ago, Iowa Horn said:

Yeah.  It was dangerous 25 years ago, and quite a bit worse now with lots more traffic.  Every time I hear about an accident on it I cringe because of all the people I know who drive it twice a day.

Yeah same here, we have so many work crews to travel in and out on 290 I'm amazed we haven't lost someone yet.

[hookem2010 2624]

290 construction in Houston has killed about a dozen of my tires the last 5 years so this hits close to home. I have probably spent more time on that road than any other in my entire life, and I've hated every minute of it.

[Kermit 3156]

Knew the lady who died. Dentist in the Dripping Springs area. Veteran. Sweetheart. Seems the young man drifted into her lane for “unknown reasons.” Hopefully he wasn’t on his phone. RIP Carol.

[hayden_horn 11362]

yeah, when heading out west for whatever reason, i try and stay in the right lane. i don't believe in ghosts, but that stretch of road has a haunting feeling when driving it, like the number of people who have died there have left an impression.

we lost a hornfans poster and his daughter on that road back in the day, yeah? mojica?

Edited April 5, 2018 by hayden_horn

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

9 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

yeah, when heading out west for whatever reason, i try and stay in the right lane. i don't believe in ghosts, but that stretch of road has a haunting feeling when driving it, like the number of people who have died there have left an impression.

we lost a hornfans poster and his daughter on that road back in the day, yeah? mojica?

Yeah I stay in the right lane too.  I go out to my place of Fitzhugh almost every weekend.  That road has gotten bad too, what with all the breweries, distilleries and bicycles.

[Pasken 1309]

Yea it's on TxDots list to reconstruct into a 6 lane divided highway in a 5-10 years but it's a lot more complicated now that they canceled all the toll projects without raising taxes so rural projects like this have to compete with major and expensive urban projects. 

[shadetree 66]

53 minutes ago, Kermit said:

Knew the lady who died. Dentist in the Dripping Springs area. Veteran. Sweetheart. Seems the young man drifted into her lane for “unknown reasons.” Hopefully he wasn’t on his phone. RIP Carol.

RIP.  

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

Got stuck in that mess yesterday on the way to work. Drive it at least 3x a week from Dripping, and definitely try and stay in the right lane. Lanes are narrow and waaaaay to many fucktards on their phones or texting as they are driving.

[DanRydell 799]

It's not nearly as bad as 290 west but that stretch of 290 east of Elgin where it's 4 undivided lanes is dangerous as hell too. My best friend was killed out there 3 years ago.

[Wally Pryor 5261]

Yes, "drifted" into an oncoming lane.  Ugh. 

Two people who died in a collision on U.S. 290 West in southwest Travis County on Wednesday afternoon have been identified.

Jory Mayer, 21, and Carol Ann Larue, 58, both died when their SUVs slammed into each other head-on around 4:24 p.m. at Signal Hill Drive, near the Travis-Hays county line.

Mayer was headed east on the highway in a Nissan Rogue when the vehicle drifted into the center turn lane, then into oncoming traffic.

Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene.

AAS

 

 

Edited April 5, 2018 by Wally Pryor

[South Austin 52509]

We rarely take that road anymore, but yeah, I'm staying in the right lane as much as possible. 

[TXLNGHRN10 341]

this is what kills me about Austin, the roads where never designed for the amount of traffic that are on them, then they encourage the world to move here, over develop the areas with no infrastructure and then "it's shocking there are so many deaths" 290 and 71 both should not have that many damn subdivisions built up on them making that much more traffic

[South Austin 52509]

I take 71 out of town a lot more than 290, and it seems like they've done a better job with infrastructure along that road, i.e., addition of median lanes to at least create some buffer.

[Fico 1778]

3 minutes ago, TXLNGHRN10 said:

this is what kills me about Austin, the roads where never designed for the amount of traffic that are on them, then they encourage the world to move here, over develop the areas with no infrastructure and then "it's shocking there are so many deaths" 290 and 71 both should not have that many damn subdivisions built up on them making that much more traffic

Or instead of holding the position that development is evil, we could have planned and built to accommodate growth.  The people are coming, no matter what, and they have been for 30 years now.  This conversation is for a different thread.

[1978horn 892]

Wasn't there a bond package 20ish years ago to fix the Y intersection with an overpass?  I vaguely remember something like that, but the Oak Hill residents fought it and won out.  Now they are begging for one.   There used to be a strip of stores right after William Cannon all the way to the Y.  

[TXLNGHRN10 341]

50 minutes ago, Fico said:

Or instead of holding the position that development is evil, we could have planned and built to accommodate growth.  The people are coming, no matter what, and they have been for 30 years now.  This conversation is for a different thread.

We are making the same argument. We encourage development, but don't build roads for it
I didn't mean to say development is evil
 

[ButtFumble 5179]

3 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Yeah I stay in the right lane too.  I go out to my place of Fitzhugh almost every weekend.  That road has gotten bad too, what with all the breweries, distilleries and bicycles.

 

I lived off Fitzhugh on Pauls Valley in the early 90s and 290 was needing to be expanded then I can't imagine how it is now

I was shocked last time I was back that way at the development including a light at Fitzhugh and a gas station on the corner when I was out there the closest thing was Cedar Valley Grocery and I never imagined a Home Depot in Dripping Springs

Austin would have been a perfect place to run rail lines to the smaller towns around the area and then buy up land around Austin proper and prevent development on it so that people either live in the developed area and they make the infrastructure match it or they live in the smaller surrounding towns and ride the train into town

instead like others said they sat back and thought that limiting road construction would stop development while telling everyone on earth that they should move to Austin (and then vote to limit development especially roads)

[kevwun 15789]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

I take 71 out of town a lot more than 290, and it seems like they've done a better job with infrastructure along that road, i.e., addition of median lanes to at least create some buffer.

I've always preferred 71, but now that the last 2 overpasses in Bastrop are done it's not even close as to the better route.  Once you're passed 130, 71 is an easy drive.

And speaking of terrible roads, I hate the shit out of 21.  Driving 50 for 30 miles because you can never, ever pass is so much fun.  I hate that highway more than any in the state.  The money wasted on 130 would have been so much better spent on making 21 four lanes from 71 to San Marcos.

Edited April 5, 2018 by kevwun

[Brisketexan 105143]

4 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I've always preferred 71, but now that the last 2 overpasses in Bastrop are done it's not even close as to the better route.  Once you're passed 130, 71 is an easy drive.

And speaking of terrible roads, I hate the shit out of 21.  Driving 50 for 30 miles because you can never, ever pass is so much fun.  I hate that highway more than any in the state.  The money wasted on 130 would have been so much better spent on making 21 four lanes from 71 to San Marcos.

This.  When going between Houston and Austin, I take 71, because it's divided highway essentially the whole way.  It's generally a bit faster, too, but the "much less likely to die" thing really helps.

[kevwun 15789]

Also because Hruska's.

[elfenix 34243]

always stop for a sauerkraut and pan sausage klobasnek. 

 

the people who just hang out in the middle lane of 290 there around elgin are nuts.  not passing anyone, just hanging out in the left hand lane, with just 2 yellow stripes of paint between them and someone else coming the other way. 

[Stunns38 3460]

Road scared the shit out of me. In 2005, I worked on some houses in Belterra and was out there quite a bit. Always saw major wrecks. They need to take emergency, drastic measures. I don’t know what they could do but reduce speed limits and turn it into a speed trap with DPS until they can come up with a permanent solution.


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[wood 11225]

On 4/4/2018 at 8:54 PM, 1978horn said:

I think I heard about year ago that they are expecting 10k new homes in the next 5 years on 290 west of the Oak Hill Y.

Got damn.

18 years ago when we were looking for our first house, we saw some really nice new neighborhoods out there, but in the end the 290 drive was the deciding factor for me in me putting the nix on that shit. Now we only drive out there when we have to for some reason, and got damn it sucks. So glad we chose to buy where we did. /csb

[wood 11225]

9 hours ago, Fico said:

Or instead of holding the position that development is evil, we could have planned and built to accommodate growth.  The people are coming, no matter what, and they have been for 30 years now.  This conversation is for a different thread.

 

8 hours ago, TXLNGHRN10 said:

We are making the same argument. We encourage development, but don't build roads for it
I didn't mean to say development is evil

 

7 hours ago, ButtFumble said:

instead like others said they sat back and thought that limiting road construction would stop development while telling everyone on earth that they should move to Austin (and then vote to limit development especially roads)

Yep. Just take a look at Riverside east of I-35 for example. You know why it's divided? It was gonna be an east/west crosstown expressway, from Lamar to 71, I think. People were planning for growth, and wanted to get ready for it all the way back in the 50s & 60s. Then it got shot down by the 'No Growthers'. And that's just one example. There was an extensive freeway system planned in the 60s. That got shot down & replaced in the 70s. Same thing in the 80s,  yada yada. Thanks a lot, assholes...

http://www.texasfreeway.com/austin/historic/freeway_planning_maps/freeway_planning_maps.shtml

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Historic Austin Freeway Planning Maps

Last updated 9-August-2001 (add link to 1969 plans), created August 2000

1962 - An extensive inner-city freeway network is planned.
1969 - The approved 1969 plan still includes the inner city freeway network (no maps). Go to 1969 detail page
1980 - The inner city freeway network is wiped out, and a new plan emerges.
1983 - Minor adjustments to the 1980 plan
1985 - A world-class freeway network with 2 loops is planned
1987 - An extensive arterial network is planned for northwest Austin
1994 - The 1985 plan is devastated as environmentalists seize control
2000 - Explosive growth and gridlock make it necessary to add freeways

...and finally this POS...

Edited April 6, 2018 by wood