Heath resident urges city to seek TxDOT traffic study at several dangerous intersections

Michelle Thurgood, a Heath resident, urged the City Council during public comment on March 25 to pursue a traffic study and coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation for multiple intersections she described as hazardous.

Thurgood, who gave her address as 2404 Grant Court, said she has taught several of her seven children to drive on local roads and has noted recurring safety problems. “There’s a lot of accidents there, definitely highlighting the dangers that are inherent to that intersection,” she said referring to the Rabbit Ridge/550 crossing. She also named the Country Club and Bridge Road intersection and described “hazardous blinding issues” that make turns dangerous.

Thurgood recommended the city work “closely with TxDOT” and identified two TxDOT staff she would contact — Jeff Busch, director of transportation operations, and Travis Campbell, director of transportation planning and design — to raise the city’s safety concerns. She proposed the city pay for a traffic study, estimated at $7,000, and then use the study’s findings to prioritize improvements with TxDOT. She told council members the full build-out for turn lanes and a traffic signal could run “about a million dollars,” as discussed at a prior meeting.

She also suggested asking the County Commissioners Road Consortium to fund the $7,000 study so the city would not pay out of pocket.

The comments were made during the meeting’s public-comment period; no council action on the intersections or study was taken at the March 25 meeting. City staff acknowledged the issues and said further coordination with TxDOT and potential funding partners would follow as staff time permits.

No formal vote or motion on the traffic study was recorded in the meeting minutes.