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Kendall County commissioners this week approved $100,000 for safety improvements at Webster's Curve on Texas 46 West, which a safety campaign calls "deadly" and the site of many crashes.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Jennifer McCall sought the inclusion of the funding in the county's 2027 fiscal year budget as part of a direct partnership between her office and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
McCall said the funding will be spent directly on Jersey barriers, horizontal concrete barriers that can be placed end to end to keep vehicles in their lanes. She said Webster's Curve is among the more dangerous areas on the road.
" I think because of the typography and the change in elevation, whether they are going uphill or downhill, either route, eastbound, westbound. This seems to be one of those areas," she said.
TxDOT said the total cost of safety improvements to Webster's Curve — which will also include crash cushions, pavement widening, and guard fences — amounts to $630,000.
McCall said she has not given up hope that the state agency will respond to calls to fast-track safety projects where it can, but she also understands TxDOT will likely have to wait until after Sept. 1, the start of its fiscal year.
Among the leaders of a grassroots safety campaign to urge TxDOT to fast-track improvements has been Brad Dobson. He points out the action by McCall and her fellow Kendall County commissioners is the first local dollars committed to the SH 46 West and the first formal Kendall County–TxDOT partnership on the corridor.
Dobson said safety campaigners have been impressed by all the entities that have come forward to spur on TxDOT.
"What has stood out through all of this is how many different corners of this community have stepped up for the same reason," he said. "County commissioners on both sides of the county line. School boards. An electric cooperative. Volunteer firefighters. State legislators. A national safety organization. And thousands of neighbors who have signed a petition or written a note."
"Every one of them saw the same road, saw the same danger, and decided this was worth their voice," he added. "What is happening on SH 46 West is people looking out for each other. It is not one voice pushing an agency. It is a community coming together to make sure the families who travel this road every day get home safe."
Among the actions taken by entities during the 2026 Texas 46 safety campaign include:
- The passage of six unanimous resolutions to TxDOT that call for better road safety from Bandera and Kendall County commissioners, the Boerne school board, Bandera Electric Cooperative, Bandera school board, and the Pipe Creek Community Association
- Formal letters sent to TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams from the national Motorcycle Safety Foundation and State Representative Wes Virdell
- The full support of the Pipe Creek Volunteer Fire Department
During a 10-year period, ending in March 2026, safety campaigners said there have been 13 deaths from more than 550 crashes on 46. That includes 10 in Kendall and three in Bandera. There were 44 others injured during that period.
TxDOT said it has invested $2 million in planned near-term safety improvements, with an additional $7 million allocated for future projects. The agency is also studying a potential expansion of the highway to four lanes. It also reports its data shows many of the fatalities on Texas 46 were caused by driver error, such as speeding.
