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Weekly Road Report

COLLEGE STUDENTS JOINING FIGHT TO END DRUNK DRIVING DEATHS

Drunk driving kills one person in Texas every 7 hours and 43 minutes

ATLANTA ­–Drunk drivers claim the lives of hundreds of Texans every year, and spring break can be a particularly deadly time—TxDOT’s Drive Sober. No Regrets. The campaign is working with college students around the state to highlight the dangers of impaired driving by sharing stories from people who have experienced the consequences firsthand.

One person in Texas dies in a DUI-alcohol every seven hours and 43 minutes, driving under the influence-related traffic crash. In 2021, DUI killed 1,134 people in Texas and 2,565 seriously injured because someone chose to get behind the wheel while impaired. During spring break of 2021, Texas recorded 874 DUI-alcohol-related traffic crashes resulting in 31 deaths and 107 serious injuries.

Across the Atlanta District in 2021, 330 DUI-alcohol-related traffic crashes resulted in 22 fatalities and 51 serious injuries. Additionally, during the 2021 spring break holiday in this area, eight DUI-alcohol-related traffic crashes resulted in two serious injuries. The Atlanta District includes Bowie, Camp, Cass, Harrison, Marion, Morris, Panola, Titus, and Upshur Counties.

Texarkana, in 2021, had 48 DUI-alcohol-related traffic crashes resulting in 6 serious injuries. Additionally, during the 2021 spring break holiday in Texarkana, there were 2 DUI-alcohol-related traffic crashes resulting in one serious injury.

“Spring break can be such an exciting time for our college students. But we want them to remember that there can be real consequences if they get behind the wheel under the influence of any amount of alcohol. With so many sober ride options available, there’s no excuse to drive after you’ve been drinking,” said Atlanta District Engineer Rebecca Wells.

“The loss of life on our highways is tragic,” said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. “It is all the more tragic to know that the vast majority of these lives lost could be prevented. Our message to students is this: Help keep yourself and others safe by finding a sober ride, taking a cab, using a rideshare, or simply staying put. There are severe and deadly consequences to drunk driving, and we don’t want to see lives and futures destroyed.”

TxDOT is partnering with college campus-based U in the Driver Seat, a peer-to-peer program led by students at Texas A&M University, focused on saving lives by preventing traffic crashes. In addition, student leaders from around the state will join the campaign and urge their fellow students always to find a sober ride.

Drinking and driving is an all-too-often regrettable decision with far-reaching consequences. Beyond the inherent risk of injury and death—to the driver, passengers, or other innocent bystanders—driving while intoxicated is often accompanied by a lingering emotional and financial toll, resulting in legal, career, and mental health repercussions. Every day, impaired driving devastates the lives of offenders and survivors alike.

Throughout March, TxDOT’s Drive Sober. No Regrets. The campaign will host outreach events at key spring break locations. Each event will showcase a mobile video exhibit featuring powerful testimonials from Texans who intimately understand the consequences of drunk driving, either as offenders or survivors. You can find these humanizing stories and tips for a sober ride at SoberRides.org.

TxDOT’s Drive Sober. No Regrets. The campaign is a critical component of #EndTheStreakTX, a broader social media and word-of-mouth effort that encourages drivers to make safer choices while behind the wheel to help end the streak of daily deaths. November 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roadways.

For media inquiries, contact TxDOT Atlanta District Public Information Officer Heather Deaton at Heather.Deaton@TxDOT.gov or call (903) 799-1306.

Follow TxDOT’s Atlanta District on Facebook @TxDOTAtlantaTX, Twitter @TxDOTAtlanta, and Nextdoor. 

TxDOT Paris District

March 5 – March 11, 2023

Hopkins, Franklin Counties

Contacts: Sulphur Springs Area Office (903) 885-9514; Franklin Co. Maintenance (903) 537-4976; Hopkins Co. Maintenance (903) 885-4031.

FM 1536, Hopkins County: from SH 19 to FM 71. Watch for lane closures and short delays as crews place pavement markings on the roadway.

Delta, Lamar, and Red River Counties

Contacts: Paris Area Office (903) 784-1357; Delta Co. Maintenance (903) 395-2139; Lamar Co. Maintenance (903) 785-4468; Red River Co. Maintenance (903) 427-3561.

SH 37, Red River County: from US 82 to the Texas-Oklahoma state line, watch for temporary lane and shoulder closures while crews resurface the roadway and perform bridge maintenance.

FM 906, Lamar County: from FM 2648 to CR 47400. Watch for temporary lane closures while crews rehabilitate the existing pavement and improve drainage structures.

FM 38, Lamar County: from US 82 to US 82. Watch for temporary lane and shoulder closures while crews improve drainage structures and upgrade bridge rail and metal-beam guard fence.

FM 1487, Red River County: from FM 909 to FM 910. Watch for temporary lane closures while crews widen and rehabilitate the existing pavement and improve drainage structures.

Loop 286, Lamar County: from FM 1497 around the North Loop to FM 1507. Watch for temporary lane and shoulder closures while crews improve guardrail and drainage structures, perform bridge maintenance, and place bonded concrete surfacing.

Loop 286/US 271 South Interchange, Lamar County: from Dawn Drive going south to the North Loop 286, turn around. Watch for temporary lane and shoulder closures, lane shifts, and traffic merges while crews improve guardrails and perform bridge maintenance.

FM 64, Delta County: from FM 128 to SH 1532. Watch for temporary lane closures while crews rehabilitate the existing pavement and improve drainage structures.

FM 2675, Delta County: from Lamar County line to FM 128. watch for temporary lane closures while crews rehabilitate the existing pavement and improve drainage structures.

BU 271 (North Main Street), Lamar County: from Santa Fe Street to one-quarter mile north of Stone Avenue, watch for temporary lane closures while crews install the sidewalk.

FM 411, FM 1159, FM 1699, FM 2283, US 82, and US 37, Red River County: Watch for temporary lane closures while crews remove debris from recent storm damage.

FM 1499, FM 906, FM 2820, FM 79, FM 1510, US 271 North, and FM 197, Lamar County: Watch for temporary lane closures while crews remove debris from recent storm damage.

US 82, Lamar County: at the FM 1502 intersection. Watch for temporary lane closures and traffic/lane shifts as crews widen the roadway to install a left-turn lane and improve drainage structures.

TxDOT Paris District

 March 5 – March 11, 2023

 

Bowie County 

  • I-30 – From FM 989 to AR State Line, reconstructing and widening the highway, concrete paving in median
  • I-30 – From FM 989 to FM 3419, an extension of frontage roads. FM 2148 closed under the I-30 bridge.
  • I-30 – Westbound at Exit 207/Spur 594, ramp rehabilitation. Exit & entrance ramps are closed, with westbound traffic restricted to one lane.
  • I-30 – Eastbound from FM 990, drainage upgrades, with traffic limited to one lane in some areas.
  • SH 8 – At Sulphur River, replacing bridges
  • SH 98 – At Anderson Creek, bridge replacement, with traffic restricted to one lane, with signal lights controlling traffic through the work zone.

Camp County 

  • SL 255 – From FM 1520 to US 271, constructing a highway, County Road 2120 detoured

Cass County

  • SH 8 – At Sulphur River, replacing bridges
  • US 67 – Widening bridge at Jennings Slough, lanes open to traffic, seal coat scheduled
  • US 59 – From 1.2 miles south of FM 2328N to 1.9 miles south of FM 2328S, resurfacing road, bridge rail improvements. Northbound lane closure

 Harrison County 

  • US 59 – At I-20, replacing the bridge with US 59, traffic shifted to southbound lanes.
  • I-20 – Concrete pavement repairs. Daytime lane closures
  • I-20 – Bridge maintenance, with lane closures on the north frontage road at Mason Creek
  • I-20 – At Lansing Switch Road, constructing a new bridge over the interstate, with Lansing Switch’s road open to traffic
  • SH 43 – At Kansas City Southern Railroad in Karnack, the bridge over the railroad is widening. Roadway open
  • FM 3001 – At Little Cypress Bayou Relief. Replacing bridge. Temporary traffic signals in place, lane closure with two-way traffic
  • US 80 – From SL 281 to Tom Brown Parkway, installing safety barrier cable, daytime lane closures

Panola County 

  • US 59 (Loop) – From Business 59 north of Carthage to US 79 east, rehabilitating highway, with Roadways open, seal coat scheduled.
  • US 59 – From Harrison County line to US 79 north, installing safety barrier cable
  • SH 149 – 0.8 miles south of SH 315 to US 59. Widening road

Titus County

  • US 271 – At Dickson Creek, Big Slough Creek, White Oak Creek & White Oak Creek Relief, replacing bridges

 Upshur County 

  • US 271 – From 5.9 miles north of SH 155 to 1.5 miles north of SH 155, resurfacing road. Lane, shoulder closures
  • US 80 – From Wood County line to 0.3 miles east of SH 155N, resurfacing road