AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Highway 21 runs from San Marcos to the Texas-Louisiana border near San Augustine.
But it’s the stretch of road from Hays County to Bryan-College Station that has earned a bad reputation as one of the most dangerous highways in Central Texas.
In some places, the highway is narrow, with no shoulders, lacking turning lanes where some are needed. Wrecks occur frequently – often the result of drivers not paying attention.
It was along Highway 21 in Bastrop County in 2019 that four children died – three of them brother and sisters – in a crash that left a woman critically injured. Their car had stopped on the highway to make a left turn and was rear ended by a pick-up truck.
That tragedy was compounded by the fact that there once was a turning lane where the wreck happened, but it had been removed, according to some people who live in the area.
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Friday’s tragedy is yet another chapter in the saga of Highway 21. Whether the fault is with drivers or the highway design, or both, many are wondering: what will it take to make it safer?