Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Traffic Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
TxDOT awards $800,000 to Ennis for Nasuda Road crossover safety project
Summary
Colliers’ safety study found multiple injury crashes at the Nasuda Road/US 287 merge; TxDOT approved $800,000 in state/federal safety funds for a project that would close a risky crossover, add physical separation on Business 287 and install guide signage and right‑only access to reduce left‑turn conflicts.
A Colliers Engineering safety study prompted an expedited $800,000 state and federal safety grant from TxDOT to address a high-conflict crossover where Nasuda Road meets US 287, city staff said at an Aug. 17 Ennis commission workshop.
Nicholas Hial, traffic lead for Colliers, told the commission the project area includes the merge between US 287 and Business 287 where speeds reach about 70 mph and several conflicting turning movements occur within a short distance. The study isolated seven injury crashes at the Nasuda crossover since 2020 and identified additional crashes in adjacent merge/weave areas. Colliers proposed physically restricting some crossover movements, installing a concrete barrier and right-only treatments that would eliminate left turns at that immediate crossover and rely on signage and alternative U‑turn routing via the business route.
Hial said TxDOT approved the safety grant in April and expedited the project into the state’s three-year safety fund window; construction was put on a schedule that could allow work in late 2025 or early 2026 if TxDOT’s delivery timeline holds. As part of the concept, Colliers recommended advance guide signs on US 287 directing traffic to use Ennis Avenue and the business route for the safer U‑turn maneuver and adding a right-turn lane/access treatment at the business route intersection.
Commissioners raised property-access and traffic-weave concerns for adjacent crossovers. Hial said Colliers and TxDOT discussed alternatives—including extending the barrier farther west, closing the crossover, or providing additional delineation so vehicles would be forced to the next crossover for U‑turns—and that the state’s designer (TxDOT) will reassess weave lengths and merge geometry during plan development. Commissioners asked staff to request short-term temporary traffic-control measures (temporary signage or bagging left-turn lanes) during the procurement and work-window to reduce immediate crash risk; Colliers said the city could request temporary TCP measures and the project team expected to meet with TxDOT within a week to discuss short-term mitigations.
The commission heard local enforcement and fire/EMS references to frequent crashes in the corridor; one public-safety speaker said the broader immediate area recorded 23 crashes from June 2023 to June 2024. No final design was adopted at the workshop; staff said they will continue coordination with TxDOT and summarize commission comments for TxDOT’s district design review.
