SH 80 between Hays and Caldwell Counties is being reconfigured to improve safety as well as to extend the life of the pavement, Texas Department of Transportation officials said Thursday.
For years, a portion of SH 80 between FM 1979 and FM 20 operated as a four-lane highway with no shoulders. The road is now being restriped so that north and southbound drivers can travel on two lanes expanded to a width of 12-feet each.
The project also includes 10-foot shoulders. When this new six-mile project is complete, SH 80 will be a consistent two-lane roadway with shoulders for the 17 miles between Luling and Martindale. The roadway is striped in certain locations to allow for safe passing, officials said.
Although the previous configuration of SH 80 provided four lanes of traffic from FM 1979 to FM 20 near Fentress, TxDOT officials said motorists, law enforcement and emergency responders were put at risk any time they pulled off the road.
When the project is complete, drivers will have the added protection of a 10-foot shoulder along the six-mile stretch between FM 1979 and FM 20.
Part of the project includes the repair of cracks in the pavement. With the roadway conditions improved, TxDOT thinks there is less chance the cracks will return since the edge of the roadway will be used as a shoulder.
When traveling SH 80 near the city of limits of San Marcos, the daily traffic count averages more than 10,000 vehicles a day, officials said.
Traffic counts show, however, that the number of cars traveling SH 80 drops significantly between FM 1979 and FM 20 to about 5,000 vehicles a day.
TxDOT officials said they feel the project will improve safety, and that traffic congestion should not increase significantly between FM 1979 and FM 20.
The SH 80 project cost $3.7 million dollars and is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Weather permitting, the project will be completed by the end of November.
