TxDOT looking at feasibility study to address traffic congestion in Hearne and Robertson County

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Next Thursday TxDOT Bryan will hold a public meeting for a feasibility study which will look at ways to alleviate traffic congestion around Hearne and Robertson County.

The meeting will be held at Heanre Elementary School from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Residents can ask questions and it will be come and go. For those who can’t make the meeting, TxDOT said they can go to TxDOT.Gov and search Hearne Relief Route.

TxDOT Bryan’s Public Information Officer Bob Colwell said that the study is being conducted because of the number of congestion points in the town. It will look at potential relief routes.

“We have major roadways such as U.S. 79, U.S. 190 and State Highway 6 that go through Hearne as well as the Union Pacific Railroad. This proposed relief route corridor will provide an alternate route with connection to those major roadways,” Colwell said. “We are looking at going to both the east and west of the city of Hearne right now. We just have broad, broad lines on a map right now.”

While nothing is set in stone, Coldwell said it’s important to get feedback as whatever they do will likely impact residents.

“This is the first of many meetings that will come along the lines, we don’t even have anything narrowed down. Our goal is to try to get some information from the general public to see where we can start narrowing down the feasibility study,” Colwell said.

Cunningham Real Estate in Hearne is no stranger to the heavy traffic. The business sits along Texas 6 and sees it each day.

“It can make it difficult to get around it mostly it creates a bad image for Hearne it kind of has people as they drive through Hearne, instead of looking at Hearne in a positive way they kind of feel negative because Hearne slowed them down on their commute through Texas,” said Cody Cunningham, real estate agent.

They’re not alone, less than a minute away is Broadus Barber Shop which has been there for 20 years. Owner Jerry Broadus said the traffic has worsened over the years, especially over the last five.

“I never had any problems when I wanted to leave here and go somewhere else, but sometimes if I go to lunch it’s hard to get back in here. There is so much traffic I have to go all the way out of traffic and come all the way back on this side,” Broadus said.

A part of the reason the traffic is so heavy and gets congested so easily is that vehicles are coming from areas such as Austin, Houston and Dallas and they’re getting stopped by the narrow roads and blockages in the town, Broadus said. Another issue Broadus said involves the Union Pacific Train that backs up traffic from the railroad to the bridge where the town begins.

“When the train goes across on the other end it completely stops this road,” Broadus said. “When the train finally gets by it turns it all loose and it takes a while for this traffic to settle down. I think this could be fixed with an overpass going over that railroad down there.”

Cunningham said they normally see a big traffic increase on Fridays, game days, and when the train rolls through.

“When things back up this far, we have a few days throughout the year where heavy traffic will do that, but consistently the reason is the trains,” Cunningham said.

With the meeting coming up, Cunningham said he’d like to see TxDOT find a solution for those busy weekends and work with Union Pacific to make timing adjustments.

“I don’t want to see the traffic diverted. Monday through Thursday, most Fridays, most days throughout the year that traffic is very important to the economy of Hearne, very beneficial and really a way for Hearne to highlight and show what a great city it is,” Cunningham said.