Dangerous and deadly Hill Country highway: How TxDOT plans to fix and widen SH 46

The Texas Department of Transportation has launched a multiphased safety strategy along State Highway 46 to combat a surge in traffic and a rising number of collisions, officials announced Monday.

Hill Country deadly highway

By the numbers:

The targeted corridor, spanning from State Highway 16 to Interstate 10, saw 244 reported crashes between 2021 and 2025. According to TxDOT data, six of those collisions were fatal, with investigators identifying unsafe speed, failure to control speed, and driver inattention as the primary contributing factors.

In response to the data, transportation officials have already completed $2 million in immediate safety enhancements along the route. The initial investments funded high-visibility pavement markings, extra warning signs, rumble strips, high-friction surface treatments, targeted pavement repairs, and cleared brush to improve driver sight lines.

TxDOT says the early-stage improvements are showing positive indicators, with preliminary 2025 data revealing a 7% drop in total crashes compared to the prior year.

What they're saying:

"Safety is the top priority at TxDOT," said Jennifer Serold, Lead Public Information Officer in a statement to FOX Local. "TxDOT remains committed to working with local partners to improve safety along the corridor."

To build on those initial reductions, TxDOT secured $7 million through the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. The funding is earmarked to design major intersection upgrades at multiple high-crash locations stretching across Kendall and Bandera counties. Planned upgrades include widening sections of the highway and installing dedicated left-turn lanes. The projects are currently in the design phase, with construction slated to begin in late 2027.

What's next:

Looking further ahead, state planners are conducting a comprehensive feasibility study to evaluate the corridor's long-term capacity and safety needs. Among the options being analyzed is expanding SH 46 into a four-lane divided roadway featuring wider shoulders, dedicated medians or center turn lanes, additional passing lanes, and realigned curves to soften sharp bends.

While engineering assessments indicate these long-term structural changes would dramatically reduce collisions, TxDOT officials noted that the expansions cannot move forward without securing additional state funding and acquiring new right-of-way properties.

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