Friday, May 17, 2024
Following up on safety concerns at the low water crossing on Straws Mill Road, the Coryell County Commissioners Court voted to authorize county Road and Bridge Director Justin Latham to negotiate with a property owner for land on which to build a berm to help protect travelers from a drop-off toward the Leon River caused by erosion.
The berm is considered to be a temporary solution as the county considers long-term options to address the low water crossing.
"The bank there sloughs three feet for 50 or 60 feet," Latham said. "My question to the court - is it the intent to eventually replace it? If so, we will look for a way to patch until we devise a long-term solution."
Latham said the traffic counts in the area were higher than he expected - "125 was the lowest per day."
County Judge Roger Miller said the highest daily usage recorded on the road was 222 vehicles.
"That slough was my concern, too," Miller said.
Commissioner Ryan Basham suggested the possibility of putting railing in the area to prevent people from driving off the road.
"There's one or two options there," Latham said. "It's really not a good solution to do a good rock and fill (because of erosion). We could get a temporary easement of 30 to 40 feet, and we could make the length of the curve longer. There is a fiber optic line there that runs to Fort Hood cell towers."
Commissioner Scott Weddle said the "first action is to see if we could get a temporary easement and move that curve to the left. We're buying some time."
Basham noted resolving the issue permanently will take some time.
"This is not a quick fix," he said. "It will take some time to get right of way."
Latham said the area previously had a berm but that "rains we had about 90 days ago sloughed some of it. Putting a berm there would allow us some time."
He anticipated that fixing the area permanently would likely be at least a three-year project.
