Buda residents and traffic safety advocates are turning up the heat on state and local officials, urging them to widen FM 967 after a series of collisions on the narrow two-lane stretch west of town left many neighbors on edge. Their push centers on the corridor between FM 1826 and FM 1626, which locals say is carrying far more commuter traffic than it was ever built to handle.
Those calls grew louder after a three-vehicle crash on Jan. 28 that killed one person and injured another at FM 967 and Liberty Ranch Road, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The paper reported that the Hays County Sheriff’s Office notified residents about the wreck and that the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol led the investigation.
Neighbors have launched a petition site called Widen FM 967, and the Mayrath family, who live off the road, helped organize a small advocacy group pressing for a full corridor study. The petition notes that the segment between FM 1826 and FM 1626 has seen three deadly crashes since 2019 and urges TxDOT to analyze the entire stretch instead of relying on one-off spot improvements.
Traffic counts and crash history
A study of the FM 1626/RM 967 corridor by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization found 205 crashes between 2019 and 2024 and concluded that the FM 1626/RM 967 intersection is operating over capacity during peak hours, which creates backups that spill over to nearby schools and residential driveways, according to a report by CAMPO. The study’s traffic counts and modeling show annual average daily traffic already in the tens of thousands and project continued increases unless major corridor upgrades move forward.
Planned fixes and what officials say
TxDOT has told local leaders it plans to add a dedicated turn lane and wider shoulders at the Brangus Road intersection in 2028, as reported by KXAN. County and state crews have already finished smaller safety projects on RM 967 in recent years, including a continuous two-way left-turn lane, added shoulders and drainage upgrades near schools, paid for through CAMPO funding and local road bonds, the industry outlet Texas Contractor reported in 2021.
Residents say the road is still dangerous
“I’m concerned young families and teenage drivers will face fatalities if the road is not widened,” April Mayrath told KXAN. Organizers say their petition asks TxDOT to study the full corridor between FM 1826 and FM 1626 and to prioritize interim safety measures, such as added turn lanes and shoulder work, while longer-term projects move through the planning and environmental review process; the petition is posted at Widen FM 967…