Safer Roads & Evacuations

We have a long-standing commitment to ensure that roadways are designed and maintained for safety, and we are continuously looking at new innovations and policies to enhance safety. Each year, we commission research to develop new technology and improved structures and pavements to enhance the safety of Texas roads, bridges and tunnels.

Policies aimed at segregating large trucks from general traffic have been very successful in areas such as Houston. The Trans-Texas Corridor, a multi-use statewide network of transportation routes, offers a more permanent solution. Within each segment of the TTC, cars, trucks and railways will eventually be separated into their own lanes.

Other safety initiatives include:

Cable barrier installations
Rumble strips
Wider travel lanes and shoulders
Divided highways
Dedicated left-turn lanes
Teen driver awareness program
Clearer highway signs
Keeping up with maintenance

Safety Bond Program

In 2003, voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 14, a constitutional amendment making possible the bonding authority contained in HB 3588. Thanks to the Legislature, TxDOT gained the authority to enter the bond market to finance projects, including safety projects.

The department continued work in 2006 on TxDOT's single most aggressive program to improve the safety of the traveling public in Texas. Some 644 safety projects, valued at $600 million, and identified as priorities across the state are well underway. They will widen 1,600 miles of narrow, two-lane roads, install 740 miles of median barriers on divided highways, add left turn lanes at 171 highway intersections, and build 10 new overpasses. When completed, the projects will save an estimated 1,800 lives and prevent 21,000 injuries during the next 20 years.

In safety, as in other transportation challenges, we lead the nation in developing solutions that work. We know that continued research into new safety technologies and cooperation with our partners will be required to ensure the safety of Texas' drivers in our ever-growing transportation network. Our pledge is to do whatever is reasonably possible to keep users of our transportation system safe.

Emergencies: A Matter of When, Not If

There is no doubt that we must always be prepared for a catastrophic event or natural disaster. Emergencies happen, often without warning. Recent events, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the Panhandle brush fires, starkly illustrate how crucial our highways are to our state's emergency evacuation system. Indeed, as Rita loomed in the Gulf of Mexico, TxDOT and other emergency responders worked around the clock to facilitate an unprecedented evacuation.

During that storm, more than 2.7 million people looking for safety crowded onto coastal highways. The storm passed, but the memory of miles of gridlock remains. While most people were able to evacuate, this event taught the entire state that we can and must do better.

This is why TxDOT has spent the time since the hurricanes working internally and with other state and federal emergency planners to ensure that traffic flows more smoothly the next time we must face such an emergency.

The Trans-Texas Corridor, when built, would achieve this goal, and provide a much needed new route for mass evacuations. Additionally, to facilitate evacuations when necessary, a toll exemption policy authorizes the exemption from tolls for all vehicles in the event of a declared emergency or natural disaster.

All Texans are encouraged to learn about the evacuation safety guidelines and know the emergency phone numbers for the areas in which they live. See the links below for some resources that will help you get started. Please note that these links will take you outside the Keep Texas Moving website.

Evacuation Maps

Statewide Evacuation Maps

Hurricane Evacuation Guides

Searchable Road Conditions

Road Conditions

General Emergency Preparedness

Preparing to Evacuate

Dealing with Other Emergencies

Preparing for a Storm

Preparing for the Unexpected

Are You Ready?