Safety Improvements Made To Dangerous South Austin Intersection

As part of the new budget, city officials approved $3,825,000 to make safety improvements to Austin’s five most dangerous intersections.

On Thursday, one of those intersections, Slaughter Lane and Manchaca Road, got some much-needed upgrades.

The interim improvements involve placing temporary delineator posts, or plastic yellow posts, and yellow striping near the H-E-B exit onto Manchaca Road to direct drivers exiting the driveway to turn southbound onto Manchaca Road, according to Council Member Ann Kitchen, who represents District 5. This prevents drivers from cutting across four lanes to travel northbound, which was a conflict point causing safety issues near the intersection. Additionally, the posts prevent northbound drivers from cutting across three lanes to enter the driveway unsafely.

“The tragedy of traffic fatalities and injuries on our streets is unacceptable and must be addressed as fast as possible. Just one day into the new budget we have already made changes and improved safety at Slaughter Lane and Manchaca Road,” Kitchen said in a press release. “The City of Austin cares and we are working to quickly make our roads safer.”

Last month, the Austin Transportation Department identified the intersection as one of the city’s five most dangerous.

“Crashes primarily happen at driveways north and south of the intersection. In the absence of raised medians, drivers can make unsafe left turns to and from these driveways. The project would add a raised median along Manchaca to restrict driveway access and improve safety. Dual left‐turn lanes would be added at the intersection on both streets to reduce delays,” ATD officials said.

READ MORE: These Are the Five Most Dangerous Intersections in Austin

There is an H-E-B supermarket at that intersection and the store, along with the Texas Department of Transportation, collaborated to decide how to make the intersection safer.

“When it comes to our customer’s safety we make it our top priority. As soon as we learned of an opportunity to improve the intersection, we were on board,” Leslie Sweet, H-E-B’s director of public affairs, said in the press release. “We’ve been working with the City’s Transportation Department to find a solution that works for our store, and most importantly keeps our customers safe.”

And more improvements to the intersection coould come in the future.

The permanent safety improvements could include a raised median along Manchaca Rd. to restrict driveway access and improve safety. In the absence of raised medians, drivers can make unsafe left turns to and from driveways near the intersection, unfortunately resulting in crashes in some cases. Additionally, dual left‐turn lanes could be added at the intersection on both streets to reduce delays. The permanent improvements are currently going through a contracting process before moving to design, and then construction.

[PHOTO: Office of Council Member Ann Kitchen]