TXDOT to Fix Guardrail Damage on Northbound I-35 Today

(New Braunfels, TX) -- Guardrail damage on northbound I-35 at the exit ramp for the Guadalupe river turnaround will be fixed today by TXDOT crews, which will mean the closure of two ramps on and off I-35. The damage was done during an accident at the end of October when a tandem-trailer Fed-Ex Truck rolled over as it approached the Guadalupe River Bridge on northbound I-35.

As KGNB reported following that wreck, the 18-wheeler, which was towing two trailers, was cutoff when a Ford F-150 pick-up truck first struck the center divider and then swerved across all lanes of traffic, causing the big rig driver to swerve. The trucks still hit each other and the momentum of that wreck turned the big rig so that, as it approached the 188 exit, its two trailers were forced to separate, sending one of the trailers skidding across the mainlanes of traffic, while the rig and the other trailer rolled onto its side on the Guadalupe River exit ramp. The 68-year old driver of the 18-wheeler suffered serious injuries in that wreck and he was later transported by Airlife to a San Antonio hospital. The pickup truck driver, a 25-year old man from Canyon Lake, was allegedly intoxicated behind the wheel and was later arrested. The mainlanes of the highway were shut down for more than 4 hours that day, and crews also had to deal with a minor haz-mat situation, since the Fed-Ex truck was carrying some flammable cargo (specifically lighter fluid), and it was leaking diesel fuel, some of which ended up in the Guadalupe River below. Cleanup crews had to use booms and dikes to clean up that mess, and the exit ramp at the Guadalupe River turnaround was closed for more than 12 hours while crews tried to remove the rig and one of the two trailers on that exit ramp.

The resulting damage to the guardrail in that area from that wreck is the target of today’s TXDOT work, which will shut down the on-ramp on northbound I-35 between Walnut and 725 and Exit 188 at the Guadalupe River turnaround. Those closures will be in place from 9am to 4pm today.