Seeing a sign 'Guardrail Damage Ahead' makes you pay more attention as you are driving down the road, especially on a curve. When you also see a 'No Center Line' sign just a few yards from that, you slow down wondering what is around the next bend. (When you live in the Hill Country, there are no such things as straight roads, at least not very long ones.)
When you first see a guardrail that is badly damaged, your mind first thinks, 'I wonder what caused that.' But when you see the damaged guardrail for weeks and weeks, you start to think, 'I sure wish they would fix that.'
You can maneuver the road and curve, and 'no center line' in the curve when you know the road. You just hope the drivers coming from the opposite direction know the road or are paying very close attention.
However, when you throw in a very foggy morning - like we had a little over a week ago, that curve with guardrail damage and no center line gets a little more interesting.
I reached out to Lisa Tipton, the Brownwood District Public Information Officer for TxDOT. Her office also covers San Saba County. She has always been very helpful in giving the San Saba News local TxDOT information and updates.
Here is the information she provided on what is happening with Hwy 16 just south of town: The surface of highway 16, south of San Saba, at Simpson Creek was milled (textured) to improve traction and was subsequently restriped. Unfortunately, a crash involving a truck occurred, resulting in a rollover and a spill of asphalt onto the roadway. A temporary patch was applied to cover the spill. TxDOT crews plan to restripe the area; however, a mechanical issue with our striping equipment has caused a delay. We currently estimate that restriping will take place in approximately two weeks, pending equipment repairs and weather conditions.
The damaged guardrail resulted from a separate truck collision, which also broke the concrete bridge rail. The concrete repair is being addressed through a change order under the SH 16 project north of San Saba. This project is currently on hold until seal coat season begins in the coming weeks. Once the project resumes, the concrete repairs will be prioritized. After that, the metal guardrail will be replaced under a separate contract with our guardrail contractor.
There are orange barrel barriers there on the curve to show where the guardrail is supposed to be, but most of the time, some of them are knocked down.
The San Saba News & Star will keep you updated as we are giving information on the project.
In the mean time, be careful going south on Hwy 16 - especially at Simpson Creek.