LOTT, Texas — Falls County residents have launched a petition calling for safety improvements at the U.S. 77 and TX 320 intersection, citing over 20 crashes in two years. The petition has gathered 200+ signatures.
- Falls County residents started a petition to improve safety at the U.S. 77 and Hwy 320 intersection, which has seen over 20 crashes in two years.
- The petition, now with over 200 signatures, calls for measures like reduced speed limits and traffic signals.
- TxDOT plans to conduct a new traffic study after the Deer Creek bridge reopens to review the intersection's safety.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“ All I know is something has to be changed because there’s more people hurt at this intersection than any other one on 77,” said Falls County resident David Salch.
The intersection of U.S. HWY 77 and 320 is one that many people in the community consider dangerous.
For the past several months, many neighbors have reached out to 25 News with concerns about the area, with more than 20 crashes happening in the past two years.
One of those neighbors is David Salch, who has now started a petition aimed at getting the attention of our state leaders.
“People are potentially dying while we’re waiting for them to look so maybe they can bump it up to the top of the list,” Salch said.
David’s son works at a nearby auto shop, telling 25 News that crashes at the intersection are something he and his coworkers are far too familiar with.
“ We hear bangs, noises, it’s so dangerous there and oftentimes it’s a crash there,” said Falls County Resident, Hunter Salch.
The petition posted last week has already gained more than 200 signatures.
“It’s not just local people — if you look through the list of signatures there are people from Houston, Austin, Waco, Dallas, San Antonio, because this is a really heavily traveled intersection,” Salch said.
The petition is calling for safety improvements to be made.
“There are so many things that we can do, even temporarily,” Salch said.
Some of the options listed on the petition include reducing the speed limit, installing a traffic signal and/or speed bumps and installing additional blinking lights.
25 News reached out to TxDOT for comment — we got this statement, which reads:
In December of 2023, TxDOT performed a traffic signal study at this intersection in Lott. The study follows prescribed engineering methods and it was determined that this intersection did not meet the minimal engineering threshold of any warrants needed by law to install a traffic signal. However, in response to recent public interest in the safety of the intersection, TxDOT will conduct another warrant study after the Deer Creek bridge reopens. The re-opening of the bridge and US-77 is scheduled by next week, field conditions permitting. This will allow traffic to normalize in the area and make this new warrant study more indicative of true traffic patterns when performed under normalized traffic conditions.
Additionally, TxDOT will work during the interim to advance the installation of rumble strips and have already performed signage enhancements near the intersection.
More information on the petition can be found here.
