CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Highway 361 is a main travel route in the Coastal Bend, but some residents said it's become dangerous, even deadly.
Residents want the 60 mile per hour speed limit on the two-lane highway lowered.
Port Aransas resident James Cartwright has had close encounters on Highway 361.
He owns a golf cart business and said when the summer season begins, the highway gets extra busy.
For residents and visitors, the two lane highway is one of the main routes to-and-from Port Aransas.
"If or some reason we needed to get off the island for an emergency, or a storm, or whatever and then there is an accident going that way and the only way off is the ferry, that is very dangerous," Cartwright said.
According to Texas Department of Transportation officials, there have been ten fatal accidents on Highway 361 since 2013.
The latest happened this year during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Port Aransas Mayor Wendy Moore said lowering the 60 mile per hour limit would help solve the problem.
The city's chief of police Scott Burroughs also believes drivers need to be more responsible on the road.
“The biggest issue we have is that people are impatient, and they try to pass traffic by going down the center left turn only lane and it has resulted in a couple head on collision and serious accidents," Burroughs said.
KRIS 6 News received a statement from TxDOT officials addressing projects already under way to resolve some of the issues:
TxDOT already has a project in the early development stages for improvements to SH 361 from Port Aransas to Park Road 22. The project will study options to increase capacity and add operational improvements to address increasing traffic volumes and development along this corridor.
Dailey added TxDOT will be seeking bids for two safety lighting projects on Highway 361:
- From Gulf Waters RV Resort to just north of Grand Caribbean
- North and south of La Concha Boulevard
However, their statement said nothing about the speed limit concerns.
Burroughs said expanding the road will help.
“We're just a growing city, so they are going to have to expand the infrastructure whether it helps with the infrastructure or not they have to increase the capacity. The last couple of days there has been some minor construction and it has created delays that are over a mile long,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs said his department is doing what it can to make Highway 361 safer, his officers have issued about 50 speeding tickets just this month.
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