A 'fix' in the works for RR12 & Hwy 29

AUSTIN (KXAN) - After a town hall meeting in Dripping Springs Monday night regarding the surface treatment that currently exists on Ranch Road 12 between US 290 and Hamilton Pool Road, the Texas Department of Transportation is now looking to re-work that road, along with others.

"I think we're going to go in there and do some re-work. We have seen (that) we've got some issues we need to fix and we have to make sure that the roads our folks are driving on in our District are as safe as possible," said Carlos Lopez, the Austin District Engineer for TxDOT.

Within the last four to six months, Ranch Road 12, a portion of FM 150 south of Dripping Springs and Highway 29 between Bertram and Burnet were all re-paved with a chipseal surface. It's something that's more porous than a hot seal surface overlay, and also cheaper.

"And they're typically reserved for lower volume, more rural type of settings," Lopez says. "And it simply comes down to economics. The chipseals are typically about one-fifth to one-fourth the cost of a hot-mix overlay, so we can treat a lot more roads with this treatment if it's the right fit for the road."

But from what TxDOT told KXAN, the chipseal treatment completed on those roads were not done properly.

"I think we had some issues with the type of oil treatment that was put down and the rate, so we've seen some rock come up and we've had to do more sweeping then we would have normally had to have done," Lopez said.

Since then residents that live near these roads have complained about pieces of the gravel breaking apart and flying into their cars.

"I got a few minor dings on my windshield," said Euclid McLoud, who lives near Bertram. "Thank goodness I don't think they will be large enough to cause any cracks."

"Submit those claims to TxDOT, and we'll look into it and see what we can do about that. I don't know exactly what the resolution will be," Lopez said.

Some residents are also concerned about the safety issue of that loose gravel, and roads with cars traveling 60 plus miles an hour.

"Because of that new rock on there, your tires are going to grab a lot better then on a road that has a hot-mix that's older. So, it's actually much safer from a skid standpoint," Lopez said.

600 miles of roads in Central Texas now have the chipseal surface. TxDOT expects more rural roads may also get the same treatment as maintenance continues, and the agency finds ways to cut costs without compromising safety.

"There might be some roads out there that currently have a hot mix on it, that when it comes time to do maintenance on them, they may see a chipseal on it. It just depends on where the road is, how much traffic, what kind of turning movements they have," Lopez said.

And for those roads that need to be re-worked, TxDOT plans to make it better.

"Bottom-line, we accepted the work and now we're going to make it right," Lopez said.