Road workers voice safety concerns after drivers ignore road closure signs
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A section of road in the southern part of Brazos County is closed for construction, but road workers say drivers aren’t following road closure signs
To accommodate the growing subdivisions, the county is widening a stretch of I&GN Road and reinforcing the pavement.
Workers set up detour routes to redirect traffic, but one county employee said they’ve been receiving complaints about its length.
“We’re working to try to come up with some solutions to see if we can have a little bit more through traffic. But even in that case, through traffic will be delayed during construction either way,” Fred Paine, operations manager for the Brazos County Road & Bridge Department, said.
Closing down the road is a safety measure for both drivers and road workers.
“You can see they’re milling up the road right now, so it could be pretty unstable. They can lose traction very easily, and not to mention they could put some of the workers in harm’s way,” Billy Dillon, superintendent for Elliott Construction, said.
But Dillon said drivers are still cutting through, acknowledging that it’s inconvenient to work around the detours.
The safer construction crews are, the faster Paine said they’ll likely finish. The expected completion date is either August or September of 2024.
“Folks doing the right thing, trying to, you know, avoid that construction conflict,” Paine said.
