AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – In the wake of a Jan. 11 head-on crash on South Grand Street that resulted in the deaths of three people, including a local high school student and two brothers, Amarillo community members raised concerns about the need for improvements of the road.
However, before road improvements can be made, officials with the City of Amarillo and Randall County will need to know who owns and is responsible for what portions of the pavement. But nearly 45 years after the city first annexed land including parts of South Grand Street, the answer is still uncertain.
Amarillo Interim City Manager Andrew Freeman and other city staff compiled a timeline of the city’s relationship with Grand Street from the Comanche Trail Golf Course to 58th Street, which highlighted a series of near-misses with annexing the road and legislative changes that have contributed to confusion in 2024 over who is responsible for maintaining the road, where, and how. Freeman said this timeline was compiled in response to calls for road improvements, though the process for even clarifying what the city owns of the road – the “Right of Way” lines for the city and county – may take weeks.