Reconstruction of Interstate 20 at Ranger Hill approaching completion

Just in time for summer travel season, the reconfiguring of Interstate 20 on Ranger Hill has reached a major milestone.

The westbound traffic was moved May 3 to newly constructed lanes. The entrances and exits for the westbound rest area also were opened that day, said Lisa Tipton, spokeswoman for the Brownwood District Office of the Texas Department of Transportation.

The $76 million TxDOT project to redesign Eastland County's Ranger Hill – a famously  steep inclines on I-20 in Texas – started in July 2017 and is expected to be completed by the end of summer — weather permitting, Tipton said. 

"The new project has just made a world of difference in how much safer it is as far as what we had before," Eastland County Judge Rex Fields said.

Part of a limestone rocky hill was blasted away to build new lanes that are at a 3.5-degree vertical slope vs. 6 degrees previously for the highway. The new lanes also are on a gentler curve, in contrast to the old route's S-curve that compounded the traffic dangers, especially in wet or icy conditions.

"It's always been a disaster," city of Ranger Fire Chief Darrell Fox said about Ranger Hill. "Before we've had up to 10 fatalities in a year."

Ranger Hill eastbound traffic currently is traversing the newly constructed south frontage road while work continues on the permanent eastbound lanes. Those main lanes are expected to open during the early summer, Tipton said.

By the end of the project, all old pavement will be milled and stockpiled by TxDOT for reuse in other road maintenance projects, Tipton said. 

"It's been a remarkable amount of work that has been done out there," Fields said.

More:Ranger danger: A section of new Interstate 20 at steep Ranger Hill to open in January

Enhanced safety features

A third westbound lane to accommodate slower 18-wheelers and other trucks climbing Ranger Hill is a major safety addition for both passengers and first responders, said Fox, who has been fire chief for 40 years.

A second important new feature is two-way frontage roads on both sides of the interstate.

"They never had an access road before," Fields said. "The fire department had built kind of an ad hoc, homemade kind of access road, just so they could get up and down. But if it's a real muddy situation, they couldn't use it."

The lack of frontage roads on Ranger Hill often meant that traffic was stopped when a serious wreck occurred. And, accessing and working a crash scene was even more dangerous for police, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and wrecker service personnel, Fox said.

"It was just a terribly bad situation," Fields said. 

Fox recalled two first responders who were killed working Ranger Hill crash sites. Ranger police officer Toby Ray Dirickson in 2003 and wrecker service driver Adam Lopez Jr. in 2010 sustained fatal injuries after being struck by vehicles. 

"Interstate 20 is a monster in itself, just due to traffic and how fast people drive, but being able to divert them around on another road – that has a concrete barrier where they can't get to us – is a plus," Fox said.

In response to several fatal crashes, the I-20 speed limit on Ranger Hill was reduced from 75 mph to 65 mph in November 2013. 

Since the speed change and the opening of some of the less curvy, steep lanes, "we haven't had nearly the accidents on the hill itself," Fox said. "We've had them either at the bottom of the hill or at the top of the hill."

Once the interstate is completed, the speed limit will return to 75 mph, which the highway is designed to accommodate, Tipton said.

Fox said he is concerned that some drivers may see the new stretch of highway as a race track. 

"Everybody seems to be in a hurry nowadays," Fox said.

He urged drivers to move over when they see emergency crews working the highway.

"We're out there trying to do something to get back home to our families," Fox said.

But, overall, the project has "been a real boon for the traveling public there to be able to have that road and not be concerned about having accidents and being blocked off going up and down Ranger Hill," Fields said. 

Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.