A deadly highway in the Coastal Bend that is set for a major expansion has come under renewed scrutiny after three people died in multiple collisions within days of each other in August.
Last week, the Texas Department of Transportation lowered the speed limit of Texas Highway 361 from 60 mph to 50 mph. The Texas Department of Public Safety also increased patrols along the 15-mile stretch of coastal highway connecting Corpus Christi to Port Aransas, conducting more than 200 traffic stops within the first 48 hours, according to Corpus Christi ABC affiliate KIII 3NEWS. TxDOT is also seeking public input on how to make the highway safer while a proposed road-widening project remains years away.
But Coastal Bend residents are calling for more to be done after two fatal crashes killed a total of three people and injured three more within a week of each other in August. A Change.org petition called “Make Highway 361 safer for Port Aransas and Padre Island” has gathered more than 4,600 signatures in the three weeks since longtime local David Jensen launched it.
“We are aware that TxDOT is already planning major improvements to this corridor, including divided roadway and median improvements. We support those plans. But we do not believe we should wait years,” Jensen’s petition reads.
“Start the safety improvements now. Build them into the future project. Leave the protection in place while construction moves forward,” it further reads.
Several people chimed in with their own harrowing encounters, including a woman named Danielle who called the narrow highway a “death trap.” Another person said they use apps to track their entire family’s locations and “collectively hold our breath as we drive.” Multiple people openly questioned when the human cost would finally be enough to prompt change on the “scariest” highway.
“How many deaths are too much?” a woman named Denise asked.
Currently, Highway 361 consists of two undivided lanes with narrow shoulders. Along one side lies a string of power lines strung from utility poles. On the other side lies the coast, with the occasional turning lane at beach access points. At those points, the lanes narrow to 11 feet wide. Rumble strips line the margins, as well as the yellow center stripe that serves as the only separation between vehicles traveling in opposite directions.
TxDOT is planning to widen the highway as part of the so-called “SH 361 Mustang Island Project.” The project will transform Highway 361 from a two-lane road into a four-lane divided highway with raised medians and dedicated left-turn carveouts, as well as a sidewalk for pedestrians and cyclists. The project would impact some 15 miles between Park Road 22 in Corpus Christi on North Padre Island and Access Road 1 in Port Aransas on Mustang Island. But the project is still in the environmental clearance phase and construction is not expected to begin until 2030.