6.4-mile median project slated for Hwy. 71 to reduce accidents From the cover
Hwy. 71 Safety Improvement Project
The overview
Project limits Planned median openings #
BEE CREEK CREEK RD.
Running through the heart of Bee Cave, Hwy. 71 functions as the main connector to several cities in the Lake Travis region. As population sizes have increased in the area, tra c and crashes on major roads have as well. Eight tra c fatalities have been recorded in the city since 2015, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, with a total of 255 car accidents and two fatalities in 2023. In an e ort to decrease crashes and tra c fatalities on Hwy. 71 speci cally, TxDOT o cials have put forward the State Highway 71 Safety Improvement Project, which implements raised medians on a 6.4-mile corridor between Bee Creek Road and Uplands Ridge Drive in Bee Cave. Some city o cials, however, have voiced concerns about worsening tra c, with Bee Cave Police Chief Brian Jones expressing that additional tra c could impact police response times. “If tra c is even farther backed up, how are we going to get there in a timely fashion?” Jones said.
SERENE HILLS DR.
1
2
620
VAIL DIVIDE
CORAL STONE WAY
3
PEDERNALES SUMMIT PKWY.
4
CAPROCK SUMMIT DR.
5 6 7
8 9
WILLIE WAY
BEE CAVE CAVE PKWY.
10
SWEETWATER VILLAGE DR.
N. JOINT ACCESS RD. PALERMO PALERMO DR.
BEE CAVES RD.
ACACIA DR.
71
11
12 13
14 15
16
HAMILTON POOL RD.
GREAT DIVIDE DR.
17
UPLANDS RIDGE DR.
SPANISH OAKS OAKS CLUB BLVD.
© GOOGLE EARTH
N
1 Bee Creek Road 2 Pedernales Summit Parkway 3 Caprock Summit Drive 4 Serene Hills Drive/ Sweetwater Village Drive 5 Acacia Drive 6 Coral Stone Way
7 Vail Divide 8 North Joint Access Road 9 Palermo Drive 10 Future intersections 11 Bee Cave Parkway/ Hamilton Pool Road 12 Entrance to baseball fields
13 Great Divide Drive 14 Spanish Oaks Club Boulevard 15 RM 620 16 Bee Caves Road 17 H-E-B front entrance
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
Bee Cave Hwy. 71 crashes
Diving in deeper
175
By implementing raised medians on this stretch of Hwy. 71, TxDOT officials estimate that crashes may be reduced by up to 39%. Current plans detail 17 protected median breaks, providing drivers access to shops and businesses along the side of the highway. Break locations were created with input from Bee Cave residents shared at TxDOT’s open house meeting Oct. 17, TxDOT Public Information Officer Antonio Lujan said.
Data collected by TxDOT shows that crashes along Hwy. 71 in Bee Cave have increased over time, from 124 in 2019 to 151 in 2022. Sideswipe crashes, involving two vehicles flowing in the same direction of traffic, increased by 15% during this time span, and nonintersection crashes increased by 10%, according to a presentation shared by TxDOT engi- neer William Semora Jr. at a Bee Cave City Council meeting last fall.
150
125
100
0
2019 2020 2021
2022
SOURCE: TXDOT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
14
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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