HOUSTON (AP) — State transportation officials are considering a plan that would earmark $390 million to help reduce highway deaths by straightening roads, improving lighting and adding guardrails.
The Houston Chronicle reports the Texas Transportation Commission on May 30 ordered Texas Department of Transportation officials to identify strategies to cut the state's roadway fatalities — typically about 3,900 annually — in half by 2035.
Commissioners this month are expected to approve details of the safety plan that would dedicate $600 million over two years to address the issue.
Commission member Laura Ryan says Texas had a confirmed 1,857 roadway fatalities for the first half of 2019, about 50 less than that same period last year.
The newspaper's investigation last year revealed the Houston region leads the nation's major metro areas in avoidable roadway deaths.
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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com
