In Monday’s Move It! column, Rad Sallee reports that TxDOT’s new Blodgett to 59 south onramp is for emergency vehicles only. Really:
For several months now, the daily list of road closings from the Texas Department of Transportation has included the new ramp from Blodgett to the southbound Southwest Freeway (U.S. 59). It’s listed as a long-term closure, but Paul Beutel and Joel Shepherd ask if it’s a permanent one.
It seems so, although emergency vehicles will be able to use it.
In May, shortly after the ramp was opened, motorists were calling it scary, and TxDOT made observations that generally bore that out.
“We found limited gaps in the U.S. 59 traffic stream and observed some ramp motorists using the right shoulder during freeway merging, creating unexpected high-speed conflicts with outbound Spur 527 travel lanes immediately downstream of the ramp,” said district spokeswoman Janelle Gbur.
“Most motorists using this ramp had some difficulty entering within the available merge area,” she said.
“In consideration of the high-traffic volumes … the limited merge distance, low Blodgett ramp traffic volumes, available freeway ramps nearby and constrained right of way, we have determined that closing this ramp is the best alternative,” Gbur said.
“The ramp will be gated and available for emergency use and incident management.”
How much did that winning design cost taxpayers?
