A pedestrian safety project is reportedly scheduled to start this month on Farm-to-Market Road 2020, which is better known locally as West University Boulevard.
Sidewalks will be added on both sides of the road from West Loop 338 to Knox Avenue, a press release stated.
Ti-Zack Concrete Inc. of Le Center, Minn., won the project with a low bid of $8,342,144.
The project reportedly features 6-foot-wide sidewalks on each side of the Farm-to-Market Road 2020 corridor. Pedestrian signal buttons will be installed at pedestrian crossings at West Loop 338, Tripp Avenue, Redondo Avenue, Moss Road and Farm-to-Market Road 1936.
Since 2010, there have been four reported pedestrian fatalities on the road, the press release detailed. The deaths occurred in 2011, 2014, 2019 and 2020. Nine other incidents have resulted in “suspected serious injuries” to pedestrians.
“We’ve seen pedestrian deaths increase in our 12-county area with 18 pedestrian deaths already reported this year,” Odessa District Engineer John Speed stated in the press release. “While we incorporate pedestrian safety elements in virtually every major project we do, a standalone project like this underscores how serious TxDOT is when it comes to safety for everyone who uses our corridors. We still need the traveling public, both pedestrians and motorists, to maintain safe practices on our roads, but this project is certainly a positive step for those wanting to walk along FM 2020 in West Odessa.”
Lane closures will reportedly be necessary for the project, but the plan is to limit lane closures to daytime working hours. Lane closures should not be in place at night unless there is an unforeseen safety concern.
The project was funded through the federal government’s Highway Safety Improvement Program, the press release stated. HSIP is a federal safety construction program to reduce the number and severity of traffic crashes. This program allows states to target funds to their most critical safety needs. TxDOT districts submit projects for funding.
The Texas Transportation Commission reportedly selected this project as part of its Road to Zero mission. In May 2019, the Texas Transportation Commission established the Road to Zero goal. The Road to Zero goal is to reduce the number of deaths on Texas roadways by half by the year 2035 and to zero by the year 2050.
When establishing this goal, the Texas Transportation Commission acknowledged that most motor vehicle crashes are preventable and directed TxDOT to develop and implement strategies to achieve the Road to Zero goal, the press release stated.
The Texas Transportation Commission has reportedly initially supported the Road to Zero goal by allocating an additional $600 million in Category 8 (Safety Programs) in the 2020 10-year Unified Transportation Program in the first two years of the program.
TxDOT evaluates candidate Road to Zero projects by considering roadway safety factors, crash reduction factors, and project completion times. TxDOT is dedicating this Road to Zero funding to targeting and reducing fatalities and suspected serious injuries in crashes with contributing factors such as lane departure, intersection safety, and pedestrian safety.
To accommodate construction of 6-foot-wide sidewalks along Farm-to-Market Road 2020, the shoulders and pavement width will be reduced. The number of lanes will remain the same.
Advance flashing warning beacons will also be installed at Business Interstate 20 and Faudree Road (Farm-to-Market Road 588) as part of the project.
