TxDOT: Project Updates
UNDATED - Here's a quick look at events and work planned in the Tyler District:
UNDATED - Here's a quick look at events and work planned in the Tyler District:
TxDOT, law enforcement agencies to host Click-It-Or-Ticket event in Tyler
TYLER -- Texans wear their belt buckles with a certain Lone Star pride, but it’s the buckles in their vehicles that could save their lives. More functional than fashionable, life-saving seat belts first debuted 45 years ago when Lyndon B. Johnson’s National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and The Highway Safety Act went into effect mandating that all automobiles have seat belts as a standard feature.
To honor President Johnson’s pioneering dedication to safety, the Texas Department of Transportation launched its 12th annual Click It or Ticket campaign this month at the LBJ Library in Austin with a car show demonstrating the progression of seat belts through the ages.
TxDOT, along with the Department of Public Safety, Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Tyler Police Department, is scheduled to host a campaign kickoff event at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the T.B. Butler Fountain Plaza in downtown Tyler.
Taking a cue from LBJ’s leadership, Texas has made seat belt safety a major priority and is proud to be one of the most buckled up states in the union.
When the Click It or Ticket campaign began in 2002, only 76 percent of Texans buckled up. Today, 94 percent are wearing seat belts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the Click It or Ticket campaign has saved nearly 3,700 lives and prevented more than 50,000 serious injuries since its launch. The increase in seat belt usage also has saved an estimated $10 billion in wages and productivity losses, medical expenses, insurance premiums, taxes and other costs.
Despite an increase in seat belt compliance, there is more work to be done with the lives of Texans at stake. Initial TxDOT data from 2012 indicates traffic-related fatalities in Texas are up by 11 percent. In 2012, there were 3,400 fatalities due to traffic crashes across the state.
Data also shows that only 82 percent of pickup passengers are buckled when riding compared to more than 91 percent of passengers riding in cars. Pickups also are more likely than passenger cars to roll over or eject unrestrained occupants in a crash.
As part of the Click It or Ticket initiative, law enforcement officials across the state will be looking for and ticketing unbuckled drivers and passengers in an effort to raise safety awareness and prevent fatalities. By Texas law, all occupants of a vehicle, including back seat passengers, must wear a seat belt. Each unbuckled occupant faces a ticket and fines up to $200, plus court costs. Last year, more than 21,200 seat belt citations were issued during the Click It or Ticket campaign.
This year's campaign enforcement period dates are May 20th-June 2nd.
Work set to begin on MLK overpass; new four-way stop on Alpine Road
LONGVIEW – Demolition work to remove the damaged bridge supports from the Martin Luther King Jr. overpass of Interstate 20 is scheduled to begin this week, with reconstruction of the damaged supports to follow immediately.
“This is the best way to ensure we’ve addressed all of the damage,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “There’s no sense in leaving anything to chance with something like this.”
The structure has been closed since it sustained heavy fire damage as the result of a crash on the morning of April 22. TxDOT engineers determined the bridge should remain closed citing safety concerns, and began work to develop a contract for the repairs.
Krantz said the work should be completed by July 1.
Also this week in Gregg County, TxDOT will be converting the intersection of FM 2208 (Alpine Street) and Hollybrook Drive/Smelley Road to a four-way stop.
Motorists should use caution in and around the intersection, which is located just northeast of East Loop 281 near the Harrison County Line.
Elsewhere, TxDOT maintenance crews are scheduled to conclude fog seal work on Spur 502 on Monday, then move to perform resurfacing operations on FM 1252 between SH 42 and SH 31.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic.
TxDOT continues pavement repairs in CantonVAN ZANDT COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation contract crews this week are scheduled to perform mill-and-inlay operations at the IH 20/SH 64 interchange west of Canton.
Elsewhere in Van Zandt County, TxDOT maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue deep-base repair work on FM 1651 between SH 198 and SH 19 south of Canton.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress. Motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zones.
TxDOT continues work on SH 110, US 79
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue base and pavement repairs in various locations on SH 110 north of New Summerfield, followed later in the week by the same work on US 79 between New Summerfield and Jacksonville.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue base and pavement repairs in various locations on SH 110 north of New Summerfield, followed later in the week by the same work on US 79 between New Summerfield and Jacksonville.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.
Construction work resumes on SH 323
RUSK COUNTY – Construction work on SH 323 between Overton and Henderson is scheduled to resume this week with crews making minor pavement repairs and performing minor resurfacing operations before applying a seal coat in June.
RUSK COUNTY – Construction work on SH 323 between Overton and Henderson is scheduled to resume this week with crews making minor pavement repairs and performing minor resurfacing operations before applying a seal coat in June.
Also this week in Rusk County, TxDOT maintenance crews are scheduled to continue resurfacing operations on FM 782, between FM 1716 in Oak Hill and SH 149 near the Gregg County Line.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.
TxDOT continues work on FM 1137
ANDERSON COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue resurfacing operations on FM 1137, between US 84 east of Palestine and the end of state maintenance.
ANDERSON COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue resurfacing operations on FM 1137, between US 84 east of Palestine and the end of state maintenance.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.
TxDOT continues work in Wood County
WOOD COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue pavement and edge repairs in various locations on FM 2966 in Yantis. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.
WOOD COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue pavement and edge repairs in various locations on FM 2966 in Yantis. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.
TxDOT continues work on FM 1667
HENDERSON COUNTY – Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews on Wednesday this week are scheduled to continue ditch and shoulder work on FM 1667 south of Trinidad.
A second crew is scheduled to perform ditch maintenance at the intersections of SH 31 and FM 3204 east of Brownsboro.
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.
Posts
