Home Owners Asking for Help Protecting Homes from the Interstate
By: Kristin Anderson
Updated: March 10, 2013
Cars whiz by on the highway as families inside the houses along the access roads worry.
"Yeah they need to put something up around the exit, or right after the exit. I mean, there's been numerous times when I'd be sitting in my house when I did down there that you would hear screeching tires and semi's honking their horns," said Kenneth Hobbie, a landlord who is now in Nebraska.
Kenneth has owned a house along the I-20 exit ramp for about six years. With multiple accidents happening right in front of his house, and sometimes even damaging his house.
"Semi went through my garage and a semi hit my garage the second time," he explained.
"It's scary. Especially if something like this happens. Having kids and all, it's pretty scary," said Austin Chanthavong, who is renting the house from Kenneth.
Austin and his family have been renting the home for close to three months, with two accidents happening in just one month. Leaving Austin worried about his family and his home.
"I have to be at work all day long. I've heard what happened with the 18-wheeler and just thinking about it, being at work, you never know. Now this is going to happen and it's going to be even harder for me to work 12 hour, 14 hour days," Austin explained.
And with the most recent of those accidents being a deadly one, homeowners in the area have tried to ask TxDot to put up some sort of barrier or guardrail to help protect their houses, including kenneth.
"I tried to talk to them the first time it happened. And they dismissed it, saying that there wasn't enough evidence or enough of a cause to put them up," he said.
"There should be guardrails there. You know, people live here, there's families here, we have kids, i have four kids that live in here. What is it going to take for them to put something up?" said Austin.
But for now, Austin and his family can do nothing to prepare for the next accident, expect hope that it doesn't happen in their front yard.
"Yeah they need to put something up around the exit, or right after the exit. I mean, there's been numerous times when I'd be sitting in my house when I did down there that you would hear screeching tires and semi's honking their horns," said Kenneth Hobbie, a landlord who is now in Nebraska.
Kenneth has owned a house along the I-20 exit ramp for about six years. With multiple accidents happening right in front of his house, and sometimes even damaging his house.
"Semi went through my garage and a semi hit my garage the second time," he explained.
"It's scary. Especially if something like this happens. Having kids and all, it's pretty scary," said Austin Chanthavong, who is renting the house from Kenneth.
Austin and his family have been renting the home for close to three months, with two accidents happening in just one month. Leaving Austin worried about his family and his home.
"I have to be at work all day long. I've heard what happened with the 18-wheeler and just thinking about it, being at work, you never know. Now this is going to happen and it's going to be even harder for me to work 12 hour, 14 hour days," Austin explained.
And with the most recent of those accidents being a deadly one, homeowners in the area have tried to ask TxDot to put up some sort of barrier or guardrail to help protect their houses, including kenneth.
"I tried to talk to them the first time it happened. And they dismissed it, saying that there wasn't enough evidence or enough of a cause to put them up," he said.
"There should be guardrails there. You know, people live here, there's families here, we have kids, i have four kids that live in here. What is it going to take for them to put something up?" said Austin.
But for now, Austin and his family can do nothing to prepare for the next accident, expect hope that it doesn't happen in their front yard.
Comments
They didn't notice there was a major highway in the backyard when they bought the house? That's like buying a house at the end of a runway then complaining about all the planes flying low over the house.
Paula T.
March 10, 2013 at 11:30 am
The state can't spare a few 3 foot tall concrete barriers? Sheesh.
Anonymous A.
March 10, 2013 at 7:22 am
