Low Water Crossings (San Antonio, Henderson, Bulverde: house, subdivisions, live) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Turtle_Mom · 08-19-2007, 07:59 PM

With all the rain we've had this summer, our low water crossings near our house have frequently been flooded over. Most times I just take the back way out because I assume they will be impassable. (Ours is on Evans Rd - between Fossil Creek and Fossil Ridge subdivisions.) When the TPC Parkway/Stone Oak Parkway is complete connecting Bulverde Rd to Evans through the Golf Course then we'll have an alternate route. But for now we have to go all the way around to Green Mountain. One year we were nearly trapped on both sides. Scary thought.

Anyway - what I've been wondering is why are these low water crossings in existence? I understand that it is due to the terrain and I know some of it is channel the drainage. I wonder if it just takes a serious injury or even death for them to fix the road. That was what happened two years ago on Henderson Pass at Turkey Creek. It's now a great bridge, but it took a woman getting swept away and drowning to bring the attention to it. On Thursday a woman died in a flooded ditch, and I wonder if now the guard rails and other protective measures will be put into place around it?

ShaneSA · 08-19-2007, 08:42 PM

I think it's because SA has grown so fast and furious, road contstruction did not follow along enough to build bridges and raise all those roads. The low water crossings are part of the terrain. They were not a real problen 20 years ago. Now because of all the new sub divisions, it's a problem.
New people who do not understand that low water crossings are dry and no problen umtil we get heavy rains and they go right through them thinking it's LOW water. The problem is it can be very FAST water and can even wash out even a Hummer. We saw that near North Star Mall and The Quarry area last week too. Becasue you are in a big car makes no difference in what water can do to a car or a land yacht.
People new to the area do not realize that 1 or 2 foot flow can really take your car away.
The barriers are there for a reason and people ignore them and get into trouble. Even the roads with no barriers have been advertised enough that people should know that even 1 or 2 feet of water is dangerous. The low water crossings all have guages on them to show the level of the water.
The people in new developments are in that terrain that has to deal with low water crossings until the roads are redone and raised or bridged.
I think some of the problem is people thinking it's the other guy who has the problem. "I can make it through that little bit of water." is the last thing they think before they get washed over.

dogsandcats · 08-19-2007, 08:55 PM

From what I've seen, there are also a number of low water crossings in areas that are not new, yet they haven't been raised. I am sure it is an expensive undertaking, but a necessary one that hopefully will be accomplished soon. I've also seen on the news that a number of people who have been swept away are longtime residents, not just new people to the area. Unfortunately bravado is not just a trait of newcomers...

I am pretty much a newbie here after one year, but I know to go out of my way to stay home when it's raining or avoid any water on the road if I am already out. It's definitely a different situation than in most cities.

sapphire · 08-19-2007, 09:23 PM

I am surprised I'm still alive--back in 1985 when I first got here, I was a fairly new driver in a little Mazda GLC, and I had never seen anything like what happens here. I was on my home from work late one night and I ended up going through water that covered my headlights. It was just there, all of a sudden, and not knowing any better I kept on going through. Now I realize how lucky I was. It is a very dangerous situation, just one that San Antonio drivers need to know about and take heed. Last week's Hummer story was so heartbreaking, like all the rest--it's so sad especially when it's a young person that really never got a chance to experience life much.

jimbobvandy · 08-20-2007, 08:50 AM

Flooding of low water crossings are not new to SA. It took about a half a dozen people dying in the 80's on Locke-Hill Selma near Wurzbach before they decided to build it up. It seemed like everytime it rained someone died in that creek. There are too many low water crossings in the city to build bridges. It floods so seldom that it just isn't cost effective. The money is better spent making the highways safer and saving lives on roads that are unsafe every day, i.e. "1604 used to be called The Death Loop".

imaterry78259 · 08-20-2007, 06:21 PM

TurtleMom-When is the completion date for the TPC

Turtle_Mom · 08-20-2007, 08:55 PM

I don't know the date for the road, but I think the final project isn't set to be complete until January 2010. The road looks like it might be complete by the end of the year, but no idea.

It is sad that so many people had to die in the Lockhill Selma area before they fixed it. I do realize there are lots of them in the area, but Evan's Rd. is such a major road, and will be more so as development continues.

rd2007 · 08-24-2007, 03:23 PM

I saw a piece on one of the news channels where a fireman was trying to stop people from going around a barricade and they all just ignored him. He was really frustrated (which makes perfect sense as he's doing this for people's safety) that people ignored him and he didn't know what he could do.
Then I saw this video here: LiveLeak.com - How To Direct Traffic In Iraq and got a brilliant idea..

It'll definitely stop people from going around barricades and they can also use it for people that wait for the last second before cutting in when a lane ends...

ShaneSA · 08-24-2007, 05:15 PM

the only problem with your solution is that the police and fireman are going to be very hot in those flack jackets. It would certainly cure alot of problems with traffic.
Including those people who have to go slow in the left lane. Does the Army Navy store carry tanks?

majormadmax · 08-30-2007, 08:46 PM

The problem is that Hummer owners are told that their vehicles are capable of driving through water that's up to two feet deep. However, that is standing water; moving water is a completely different situation. As a Jeep owner, I am acutely aware of the limitations of my vehicle, especially in water crossings. I see people in much less capable vehicles trying to cross where I wouldn't dare. It's not that I am not brave, I am just not stupid. If there is a way to go around, why risk your life?

Bottom line, it is not the water crossings that are dangerous, it is the idiots that go around the barracades!

Cheers! M2