The people of Wise County are asking TxDOT to make changes to U.S. 287, and they're being joined in that quest by county government.
Despite an increase in traffic volume due to population growth and other factors, there are many areas along U.S. 287 in Wise County where traffic needs to cross lanes to get to destinations on the other side.
Among them is Ramhorn Hill Rd. south of Rhome, just north of the Tarrant County line.
There's no merge lane onto the southbound lanes, forcing drivers to either wait patiently for a sufficient break in traffic, accelerate on the shoulder or floor it after turning into the right lane.
Another area of concern is the crossover just before County Road 2395.
That's used a lot by tractor trailer drivers trying to get to the Punjabi Dhabba restaurant and truck stop.
Without reversing direction via a crossover, traffic would need to go 6.5 miles south and take the ramp to U.S. 380.
On March 9, Jeffrey Taylor, a husband and father, was killed in a crash at that crossover.
That has led to a petition, calling on TxDOT to make changes to that crossover.
The petition states that Taylor is one of four people who have been killed in crashes at that crossover.
"They're not wide enough, and it's causing the back of the trailers to stick out into that left lane," the author of the petition, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells KRLD news. "People are running into the semis or having to avoid them (by going) into the median (or) into the shoulder."
As of Monday afternoon, more than 2,150 people have signed the petition, with a goal of 2,500 signatures.
The petition's author would like to see the crossover blocked off, but she realizes that that's a lot easier said than done.
"There seems to be issues with closing that crossover, because there's so many other people that use that on a daily basis."
The petitioner says U.S. 287 has gotten way too dangerous for crossovers.
"Instead of crossovers, we need overpasses," she says. "We need to be able to go over the highway or under the highway."
She's being joined in the effort by the Wise County Commissioners Court, which adopted a resolution calling for changes to be made along U.S. 287.
"The Wise County Commissioners Court does formally call on our intergovernmental partners at the Texas Department of Transportation to study the crossover and intersection in the vicinity of US81/287 and County Road 2395 and make necessary safety improvements, including but not limited to to closures and safety improvement construction," the resolution reads.
TxDOT says it's addressing the issue.
"The vehicle incident related to this inquiry is under investigation," says Michael Peters with the Fort Worth region of TxDOT, which serves Wise County. "Based on the findings of the investigation, TxDOT will schedule a traffic and engineering study for this location. As part of this study, we will evaluate what additional safety measures may be needed to address the changing traffic demands in this area.
"This is a high priority for TxDOT, the city of Alvord and Wise County, and we will work together with our partners to advance any resulting future enhancements as quickly as possible," Peters continues.
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