03/04/2023
SHARE SHARE SHARE - PLEASE
3/5/23. POST UPDATES SEE BELOW.
3/8 UPDATE IN COMMENTS.
See TXDOTs response given to the Menard News. There will be NO cleanup!! !!!! This is horrible and unacceptable.
ATTENTION Menard county residents. PLEASE take a short drive down Highway 29 East to Hext. Just look at what TX-DOT did to our beautiful road sides this past week. This east side entry to our county has been demolished in areas. They have destroyed our beautiful live oaks. Contractors have been hired to remove ALL TREES AND BRUSH 30 feet from the road sides on this stretch of Hwy 29 - from Hext to Menard. Historic Live oaks that were 100s of years old have been cut down and shredded. The old rest stop where the Historical Marker for Peg Leg stands at the corner of our ranch, has been destroyed. The marker still stands - but the gorgeous live oaks were removed and left shredded on the ground. This shaded stop over the years has been a safe haven for motorist that have stopped under these big oaks for a lunch break or maybe a broke down vehicle seeking shade from our sweltering heat. In front of our ranch, cedars were shredded and left laying on the road sides. This surely will wash into the deeded drainages of McDougle Creek when we have heavy rains, thus taking our entire front high fence down resulting in potential loss of livestock and debris coving our front pastures. We have 3 drainage areas in front of the ranch lined with culverts under the highway and they are filed with shredded trees and logs. It looks like a tornado traveled down Highway 29 in areas. Remaining trees on property owners fence lines have limbs ripped from them. Piles of shredded cedar and logs are on the roadsides over a foot deep in places. Cedar DOES NOT rot - it will be like this for decades. Contractors have informed us that it has been mulched and they are not cleaning it up. Beautiful wildflowers have no chance. Future erosion is inevitable. The damage is done. However this must be cleaned up. So much for our famous logo - Keep Texas Beautiful.
PLEASE SHARE this post. They are working their way west to Menard. There are several more areas they will be destroying. Not sure if this the only road that they will be clearing, but we MUST at least TRY and SAVE our Live Oaks. Shredded cedar MUST be cleaned up and removed. Drainage areas MUST be cleaned out to prevent future property damage. Thank you!!!
Apache Crossing Ranch
Menard, Texas
Brian & Dee
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UPDATE SUNDAY 3/5/23
We drove to town today down Highway 29. This problem is so much more than what we see today. Understandably, this is the property of the state. They have cleared and demolished the roadsides as it is their right. As stated, the damage has been done. But not to first mention, had TX-DOT cleared these roadsides PROPERLY, we could have avoided most of the following issues we are about to bring to your attention. By this, we mean they should have cut trees and cedars by hand and then hauled everything off. Please keep this in mind - this is our county and tax dollars to think about people of Menard and surrounding cities. With this being said - please consider the following.
There are several dozen drainage culverts this entire stretch of Hwy 29 - not just in front of our ranch. Run off rain water drains from south to north in this area. The southern water shed is very wide spread. All drainage from the south side of Hwy 29 drains UNDER the highway through culverts. The water then follows through dry creek beds on private property that all leads to the San Saba River.
These creeks and low water drainage areas are fenced by land owners along Highway 29 - this is their front fences if you will.
The drainage culverts are full of shredded debris from the trees removed. Above the culverts, there is debris piled up over a foot in places. This debris will continue to wash with heavy rains into these drainage areas. Up and down highway 29, they left piles of cedar that will get caught in the water flow on the roadsides. These floating piles will then get hung up in every landowner’s fences at low water areas along the north side of 29. Fences will be pressured from the floating debris. The fences will wash out in places. Livestock will be lost or worse wonder into the road way and cause a fatal accident. Gaps large enough for predators like coyotes, will allow them to push through these gaps and holes. As a ranch owner, we maintain our fence lines to prevent holes and gaps. We clean in and around our water gaps - now they are piled with limbs, logs and shredded trees.
County Road and Bridge will have to clean and maintain these drainage areas constantly for years to come. Can our county afford this constant maintenance? Can our ranchers afford to loose livestock? Can motorist afford to hit them?
Now let’s talk about long term - after flood after flood. Debris will wash further and further down stream onto ranchers properties. Ultimately, the debris will wash into the San Saba River. Possibly piling up over time and washing out the historic Peg Leg Dam that backs up water for miles so that ranchers can irrigate their fields. Farmers pump systems will be clogged or worse, clumped with debris and wash down the river and lost. Can farmers afford this expense?
For the remaining butchered live oaks and large trees - where limbs were cut and ripped off, this needs to be addressed as well. The trees at this point are stressed and susceptible to disease and insects. ALL cut limbs need to be sprayed with a disease and insect prevention so that these damaged trees have a fighting chance.
Up and down the highway you see ripped cedar trees. Cedars will look butchered like this for decades. They are split and ripped up. These need to all be manicured and trimmed where limbs were ripped off. This looks terrible. It will look like this for decades.
Imagine the remaining trees and cedars on the owners fence lines now. TXDOT cut off all their limbs on the one side facing the road. They are lop sided for lack of better words. They are on a slant and they now are leaning towards the fences and phone lines. In places, they have ALREADY fell on the fences and lines. When we get a good south wind, they will fall on the fences and lines. When we get another ice storm, weight will cause them to fall on fences and lines. Like we stated above, just in the past 2 days, several butchered trees HAVE ALREADY leaned over on the fences and phone lines. Once again, potential for loss of livestock, more work AND MORE EXPENSES for the ranchers and utility workers.
Our highway should have beautiful wild flowers and native grasses . NOTHING will grow where they left these piles of mulch and rubble. Remember this is mostly cedar and it does NOT decompose. We will not see vegetation or flowers in any of these areas. No vegetation means erosion. Erosion means more damage to the road ways and that means we pay more taxes to fix them.
Cleanup will take months IF it ever happens at all. We need to demand that ALL DEBRIS is hauled off. This is our rainy season. A heavy flood can come at anytime. What if it happens in the next few weeks? There is NO way all of these problems will be addressed or taken care of promptly. If this was their plan of attack - this project should have been done in sections.
3/8 UPDATE IN COMMENTS.
See TXDOTs response given to the Menard News. There will be NO cleanup!! !!!!
