The Deathtrap That Is 290 West

[Wally Pryor 5,261]

Yet another exhibit this morning.  There's many.  Today was 1826 and 290.   

I shudder any time it's a necessity to drive the thing. 

 

[Lat22 4,015]

Ugh.  Their faces give it away.

[Chewbacca 7,780]

Mustang leaving Cars & Coffee?

[DaggerHorns 3,085]

I hate that stretch. Driven it for years going out to a ranch in Henly, TX . Only driving it sporadically, I’ve seen shit like this all the time. It just sucks.

Given the amount of stupid fuckers that like to fiddle with their phones, it makes it that much worse.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Lat22 said:

Ugh.  Their faces give it away.

I mean, yeah, given the condition of the vehicle, it was iffy, right?

[Guest]

I’ve been in Amarillo for 3 days. Incredibly, laughably light traffic after living/ working in H-town metro for 16 years.

Was always a treacherous run on 290.  Like a got dam gauntlet.  Avoided it with a passion.

Edited April 18, 2019 by slorch

[SA-KC_Horn 1,295]

1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

Mustang leaving Cars & Cupcakes?

Fify

[XYZ 2,154]

The other day I was driving on 290 between Austin and Dripping Springs and I was thinking yeah, all this work they’ve done to add a middle turning lane is kind of useless. You still have traffic doing 60-65, and you still have cars having to turn left, and when they screw it up, it’s catastrophic. Now 290 and 1826 has a stop light. What excuse is there to crash at that intersection? Somebody had to run a red light there.

[Pasken 1,309]

The Oakhill Parkway project ( now funded) which has mostly been talked about as a rebuild of the Y will also reconstruct this section of 290 from Oak Hill to S View Road..

It will:

-Put a physical barrier between opposing lanes

-Remove lights and add Overpasses and U/Turn lanes

 

(Click to Enlarge)

290 West

290 West at Convict Hill

 

290 West at S View Rd

 

290 West at 1826

 

290 West at Scenic Brook

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by Pasken

[next2naus 439]

so that will take what? 10 years?

[Pasken 1,309]

Just now, next2naus said:

so that will take what? 10 years?

Dude, just be happy there is funding for it. There are a lot of people who wish the problem with 35 was that they were looking at construction timelines instead of lack of funding.

[1978horn 894]

46 minutes ago, XYZ said:

The other day I was driving on 290 between Austin and Dripping Springs and I was thinking yeah, all this work they’ve done to add a middle turning lane is kind of useless. You still have traffic doing 60-65, and you still have cars having to turn left, and when they screw it up, it’s catastrophic. Now 290 and 1826 has a stop light. What excuse is there to crash at that intersection? Somebody had to run a red light there.

I live our there and that is what causes most accidents.  Red light running and turning left when not safe.

[Girdwood 118]

1 hour ago, slorch said:

I’ve been in Amarillo for 3 days. Incredibly, laughably light traffic after living/ working in H-town metro for 16 years.

Was always a treacherous run on 290.  Like a got dam gauntlet.  Avoided it with a passion.

They are talking about 290 west, dipshit. 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Girdwood said:

They are talking about 290 west, dipshit. 

Of course.

 

and 290 out of Houston runs to the east..., correct?

 

Note to densely fucking lamebrained dork:  290 is fucked up in both localities.

 

strange,but true...

Edited April 18, 2019 by slorch

[Spaulding Smails 1,555]

I drive this stretch almost every damn day, but when given the option, I'll go home through Buda instead.  I encourage my wife to stay in Dripping as much as possible and I'm dreading the day my kids are old enough to drive primarily because of 290.  Lost a friend on that stretch in 2017 and our community had a 7 year old boy end up in a wheelchair thanks to an accident on 290 just a few months ago. 

[Austinvines 318]

Idiot took an illegal left, hit the Mustang and pushed it into oncoming traffic where it was creamed by a truck.

[DaysOff 7,962]

Always leaves my mind bottled when people blame a roadway for accidents/deaths.

Well, there are ways for non aggy civil engineers to design safer roads and highways.

[Augustus 3,061]

I wonder what percentage of accidents are attributable purely to impatience.

This idiot obviously did not have enough time to simply turn right, then go down the road to a point he could safely turn around, so he/she killed someone.

[Paper_jam 831]

A poorly designed or constructed road is more likely to result in people doing stupid shit. (Or result in situations where the consequences of doing stupid shit are more severe than they need to be.)

 

 

 

[futureman 22,512]

35 minutes ago, thestud said:

Calm down Gus, DaysOff will have you believe it was a design flaw in the construction of the road that caused this and many other accidents.

that road clearly isn’t made to handle the traffic it now gets.  I don’t have stats but I’d assume 290 between oak hill and dripping kills people at above average rates. 

[DonnyKerabatsos 86]

what does it take to get them to finally reduce the speed on that section? It needs to be 55 max prolly even 45 is some stretches now.

[Nivek 16,949]

3 hours ago, thestud said:

 

 

And there are ways for non aggy drivers to not do stupid and unsafe shit. The road is a road, it doesn’t make bad things happen. People doing stupid shit do that just fine.

 

 

There are intersections in Houston which are 2-way stops, but the overgrowth of trees/bushes/buildings make it likely one will have a near miss than at a typical 4 way stop.  Alligator Alley in Florida was notorious for lethal wrecks because of a 2 lane highway at 55 mph in the dark (sometimes gators would layout on the highway).  The state widened it, divided it, and it became safer (unfortunately cell phones and increased speed limits have made it more dangerous again).   Design matters.

[XYZ 2,154]

And this evening ANOTHER wreck on 290 and 1826. Land Cruiser pretty smashed up on the front; didn’t see the other vehicle. WTF.

[RPM 26,329]

4 hours ago, Paper_jam said:

A poorly designed or constructed road is more likely to result in people doing stupid shit.

The TxDoT engineer in Wise County for years was an aggy. He designed some real headscratchers and people died because of it. The interchange of 380 & 287 is a prime example.

Heading north on 287 and exiting to 380. Speed limit 55, steep downhill and a 20 mph horseshoe. They could have put in a traditional interchange, but that would have required taking part of the OLD TxDot yard that they use for absolutely nothing. Can't count how many trucks have flipped trying to make that turn.

Heading south on 287 and exiting to 380 you have a weird S turn then have to cross 2 lanes of 55 mph traffic. Same thing for exiting 380 E to 287 S or N. There were so many fatalities they finally had to admit it was a bad design and add an onramp from 380E to 287S. He originally said that ramp was impossible.

Edited April 19, 2019 by RPM

[futureman 22,512]

I thought aggy engineering was #1 in the country?

[Bullneck 19,186]

I live in NJ and I'd like to introduce you to two of my new friends:

the Jersey barrier

the Jughandle (hey, I used this jughandle yesterday at Denow Road)

Edited April 19, 2019 by Bullneck

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3,868]

10 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

I drive this stretch almost every damn day, but when given the option, I'll go home through Buda instead.  I encourage my wife to stay in Dripping as much as possible and I'm dreading the day my kids are old enough to drive primarily because of 290.  Lost a friend on that stretch in 2017 and our community had a 7 year old boy end up in a wheelchair thanks to an accident on 290 just a few months ago. 

We sold our place in Drippin’ 17 years ago now due to being tired of what seemed like going to 2-3 funerals a year from wrecks on 290 and on 12. Can’t imagine what it must be like with several fold more people out there. 

[Girdwood 118]

13 hours ago, slorch said:

Of course.

 

and 290 out of Houston runs to the east..., correct?

 

Note to densely fucking lamebrained dork:  290 is fucked up in both localities.

 

strange,but true...

The issues with 290 in the Houston area aren’t relevant to this discussion, dipshit.

[Girdwood 118]

5 hours ago, Bullneck said:

I live in NJ and I'd like to introduce you to two of my new friends:

the Jersey barrier

the Jughandle (hey, I used this jughandle yesterday at Denow Road)

No one gives a shit though. 

[South Austin 52,523]

7 hours ago, futureman said:

I thought aggy engineering was #1 in the country?

#1 in the county.  Brazos County.

[Longhorn Al 440]

I used to drive that stretch all the time. Never saw a wreck and this is the first I'm hearing of it being a big problem. I moved to Kyle and guess I've lost touch.

It was always a dangerous road being undivided. But I never felt nervous driving it. Just stayed in the right lane.

[Bullneck 19,186]

41 minutes ago, Longhorn Al said:

I used to drive that stretch all the time. Never saw a wreck and this is the first I'm hearing of it being a big problem. I moved to Kyle and guess I've lost touch.

It was always a dangerous road being undivided. But I never felt nervous driving it. Just stayed in the right lane.

Did you get dealt that hand in your avatar?

[Bullneck 19,186]

1 hour ago, Girdwood said:

No one gives a shit though. 

Thanks for your helpful insights.

[Longhorn Al 440]

2 hours ago, Bullneck said:

Did you get dealt that hand in your avatar?

Yep. In a tournament. Not bad, eh?

[Wally Pryor 5,261]

17 hours ago, Austinvines said:

Idiot took an illegal left, hit the Mustang and pushed it into oncoming traffic where it was creamed by a truck.

Yup. Jesus.

A man in his 20s was killed Thursday morning in a three-vehicle collision on U.S. 290 near Oak Hill after a driver in an SUV disregarded a traffic sign and collided with the man’s car, Austin Police Department officials said.

The crash happened shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of U.S. 290 West and RM 1826. Authorities said said an SUV was pulling out of a private drive onto U.S. 290 and turned left in front of several lanes of traffic on the busy highway, despite a sign that said only right turns were allowed.

The SUV collided with a silver car that swerved to avoid a wreck, senior police officer Destiny Silva said. Due to the force of the collision, the silver car continued to slide across the eastbound lanes of traffic and was hit a second time by a truck.

[Lat22 4,015]

4 hours ago, Girdwood said:

The issues with 290 in the Houston area aren’t relevant to this discussion, dipshit.

290 is the best road in Houston now. 

[BillyGoatHill 4,312]

Drive from Henly into ATX at least 4x a week...... As others have noted, stupid fucks on their cell phones are probably the greatest component of these accidents as I see them driving and on their phone texting daily. I also work in EMS and have to transport or cover them up after the accidents. They keep talking about improving the Y at Oak Hill but yet to implement. From Dripping into town, the whole thing needs to be widened and separated much like 71 is to Bastrop.

[clapclapclap 9,000]

https://www.statesman.com/news/20190418/man-killed-after-struck-by-driver-who-ignored-traffic-sign-on-us-290-police-say

Police said the driver of the SUV stayed at the scene and was cited for disregarding a posted sign, a Class C misdemeanor. They said intoxication did not play a role in the crash.

 

So the POS driving the SUV ignores the no left turn sign, turns left with traffic coming, knocks another car into a truck, killing that driver and sending the truck driver to the hospital.  Why wasn't this selfish moron arrested and charged with manslaughter?

Edited April 19, 2019 by clapclapclap

[phdhorn 6,224]

34 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

https://www.statesman.com/news/20190418/man-killed-after-struck-by-driver-who-ignored-traffic-sign-on-us-290-police-say

Police said the driver of the SUV stayed at the scene and was cited for disregarding a posted sign, a Class C misdemeanor. They said intoxication did not play a role in the crash.

 

So the POS driving the SUV ignores the no left turn sign, turns left with traffic coming, knocks another car into a truck, killing that driver and sending the truck driver to the hospital.  Why wasn't this selfish moron arrested and charged with manslaughter?

I think he's in deep shit... give it a few days... they'll Gabby Nestande his ass, only 10X worse.  He'll probably get criminal negligent manslaughter.  I'm only a Holiday Inn lawyer, but this seems to be in the textbook for that charge.  Ignoring the sign is the Class C misdemeanor.  Reckless disregard is a whole 'nother ball game.

I hope and believe he's shitting his pants right now.  

Edited April 19, 2019 by phdhorn

[Longhorn Al 440]

So where is this illegal left turn at?  What private drive?

[Longhorn Al 440]

Ok, so google streetview shows two new apartment complexes there, one west of Exxon and one east.  I didn't know those had been built. 

What a terrible design.  Only 1 lane exiting the apartment complex.  I don't see any easy places to do a u-turn on 290 when you do obey and exit right.  This entire situation is stupid.

[DonnyKerabatsos 86]

that complex has its own light to turn left onto 290 just about 100 yds west of where the wreck occured.

[Pam Cummings 9,647]

19 hours ago, thestud said:

Calm down Gus, DaysOff will have you believe it was a design flaw in the construction of the road that caused this and many other accidents.

How is it not smart to account for human stupidity when designing roads?

[Longhorn Al 440]

32 minutes ago, DonnyKerabatsos said:

that complex has its own light to turn left onto 290 just about 100 yds west of where the wreck occured.

That's not on google satellite or streetview. I'm flying blind here.

[Texas_Rocks 346]

Ok, so google streetview shows two new apartment complexes there, one west of Exxon and one east.  I didn't know those had been built. 
What a terrible design.  Only 1 lane exiting the apartment complex.  I don't see any easy places to do a u-turn on 290 when you do obey and exit right.  This entire situation is stupid.

Check this out. When planning out the construction the developers of Ocotillo apartments approached that Exxon with some sort of deal that would have allowed the apartments to share the existing Exxon driveway as a result of the entry/exit already being controlled by a traffic light. The store owners declined. Sounded like a cluster fuck of an idea in general.

[HornsOverIthaca 2,335]

15 hours ago, Bullneck said:

I live in NJ and I'd like to introduce you to two of my new friends:

the Jersey barrier

the Jughandle (hey, I used this jughandle yesterday at Denow Road)

I thought we called them K-Rails west of the Mississippi River?

[Lat22 4,015]

They’re called no post barriers in Canada. 

[XYZ 2,154]

Because I had nothing better to do, I just went to the scene of the crash to figure it out. On the north side of the intersection of 290 and 1826 there's an apartment complex named Ocotillo. It has two access roads. One is about 100 years west of the 290/1826 and it's a private driveway. There's a sign that says "no left turn". There are no traffic lights there. The second access road is Hudson Loop, which is another 100 yards west of the private driveway, and there is a traffic light there. So pickup truck uses the private driveway, tries to turn left, hits a mustang that's going west, pushes it to the eastbound lanes, where a truck hits the mustang. There was no excuse for the pickup truck not to use Hudson Loop to turn left onto 290. They better charge the driver with manslaughter.

[XYZ 2,154]

Delete

Edited April 19, 2019 by XYZ

[fattyflattie 4,638]

I passed a bad wreck last week, a Tacoma looked to have T-boned an F-150 and the 150 was on it's passenger side.  This was in an intersection on Hwy 6 in Sugarland.  Appeared as if the 150 was making a left thru the intersection in a dedicated turn lane.  As I passed by, they were just pulling the roof off, where you could see a man, motionless.  Couldn't tell (I try not to rubberneck) if he was driver or backseat passenger.  But you could tell he was fucked up or dead.    

Fast forward to the very next red light.  I stop.  3 cars in right two lanes go thru red at ~3 seconds late.  WTF people.  This world is chock full of fucking idiots.