A recent crash in Austin, Texas, killed five people and injured 11 on the city’s dreaded stretch of I-35. Unfortunately, a semi-truck driver was intoxicated when he struck the vehicles on the highway. However, the NTSB is investigating with a focus on the temporary road work zone where the deadly crash happened, suggesting the zone may have contributed to the harrowing wreck. 

The NTSB says the design of the road work zone at the site of the recent multiple-car I-35 crash may have had a concerning impact

The National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) is taking the design of a work zone on I-35 into account for an investigation into a recent deadly crash on the highway. Last Thursday night,  Solomun Weldekeal Araya, a for-hire semi-truck driver crashed into several vehicles in a temporary road work zone. Tragically, the crash injured 11 and killed five people, including an infant and a young child. 

An NTSB Investigator, Kenny Bragg, said the agency would evaluate the work zone as part of the investigation. “The design of the work zone in the roadway, that is a definite focus of this comprehensive investigation,” the NTSB investigator said. 

Bragg also said that the agency would be paying special attention to whether the work zone met federal standards. Most notably, the NTSB will evaluate the zone for signage, speed, and lane closures.

According to Fox 7 Austin, the site of the crash was something of a funnel. The lane closures reduced the flow of traffic from three lanes to a single lane at the site. While that is enough to cause significant disruption, authorities booked Araya on five counts of intoxication manslaughter. As such, Araya was alarmingly intoxicated at the time of the crash. Incidentally, Bragg said the semi-truck made no effort to stop before slamming into the vehicles. 

Unfortunately, I-35 has a reputation in Austin and the Central Texas area. In October and November of last year, vehicle strikes killed people on the highway and its access road. The highway is also under a near-constant state of upgrade. A cursory conversation with any Austinite or regular commuter will undoubtedly take a turn toward complaints and gripes with the mere mention of I-35’s traffic and road works.

The dreaded artery is going through yet another major expansion project, one that started just last year. However, the expansion project is likely to take several years to complete. Unfortunately, the project may continue to have adverse impacts, like funneling traffic down from three lanes to one at certain bottle-necked portions.