Eagle Ford Roads Getting More Dangerous: Gravel Coming
The oil and gas boom in the Eagle Ford Shale play has had a negative effect on the roads in the area, and drivers are forced to wind their way through cracked asphalt, gaping potholes and shoulders that are falling to pieces. The roads were never made for the volume and weight of the traffic the formerly rural region roadways are seeing these days. Thousands of huge trucks now travel these roads every day to get to new wells and pipelines, whereas perhaps only a dozen or so passed through them daily just a few short years ago. As a result, roads that were built to last a decade are disintegrating in three or four years.
Apparently, all of that oil and gas boom money making its way into state coffers isn’t trickling down to Eagle Ford, because Texas Department of Transportation officials are claiming they have no money to fix and maintain asphalt roads in the area. Therefore, a couple of months ago, TxDOT proposed converting at least 83 miles of farm-to-market roads to gravel, instead of asphalt. After the pubic complained mightily, the agency issued a 60-day moratorium on road conversions, meaning county officials have until the end of October to figure out a way to keep their roads from being converted to gravel. That could mean taking road maintenance away from TxDOT and/or soliciting donations from the oil and gas sector, who are using the roads to make money.
According to TxDOT, converting asphalt roads to gravel and reducing speed limits to 30 miles per hour will give drivers a smoother and safer drive, and reduce accidents when compared to the current condition of the roads. But a number of local officials and residents suggest that the gravel roads would lead to more accidents.
Hill Law Firm Attorneys have been driving and working around the Eagle Ford Shale communities for many years, and the increase in traffic volume, road wear and tear, and newly created dangers over the last several years are alarming. The Texas Oil and Gas Trucking Accident Lawyer at Hill Law Firm is well aware of the realities of living, working, and driving in the Eagle Ford Shale communities. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident with a commercial vehicle while driving in the Eagle Ford Shale region, contact the Texas Commercial Trucking Accident Lawyer at Hill Law Firm today for a free consultation.