County Judge Testifies in Austin About Bluff Traffic Bill

Fayette County Judge Joe Weber testified before the Texas Senate Transportation Committee Wednesday morning in favor of a bill filed by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst that could limit truck traffic on the Bluff south of La Grange and in Fayetteville. Kolkhorst’s bill, Senate Bill 1053, would establish a process by which the Fayette County Commissioners Court could petition the Texas Transportation Commission to reroute commercial traffic around certain areas in the County. During a hearing before the Senate Transportation Committee Wednesday morning, Weber spoke about the numerous accidents involving 18-wheelers on the Bluff. He also told senators about the dangerous situation in Fayetteville involving 18-wheelers turning at the tight corner of FM 955 and SH 159.

“I firmly believe that for most rural counties, some type of legislation is absolutely required for the safety of residents and responsible traffic management as rural Texas transitions through this period of population growth and relocation from urban to rural,” Weber said at the hearing. “SB 1053 could at least be the beginning to a solution to this problem, particularly for rural counties, for which there is no current solution in hand.”

Weber told the Record that the senators seemed receptive to the idea. He said lobbyists for the trucking industry spoke against the bill. Weber said he spoke to some of the trucking lobbyists after the hearing and encouraged them to express the County’s concerns to their companies.