PORT ARANSAS, Texas — A fatal head-on crash on Highway 361 in Port Aransas has renewed calls for safety improvements, with nearly 830 people signing a petition urging the Texas Department of Transportation to accelerate plans to separate opposing traffic lanes.
The Monday crash occurred on a section of Highway 361 where vehicles travel in opposite directions on a two-lane roadway, according to KRIS 6. Officials said the at-fault driver crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a northbound vehicle, killing one person and seriously injuring another.
The crash closed the highway for more than four hours and prompted residents to demand immediate safety measures.
Petition organizer Davide Jensen, a longtime Port Aransas and Padre Island resident, is asking TxDOT to install physical barriers between opposing lanes wherever possible while larger highway improvements remain pending.
“We are asking TxDOT to begin installing physical separation between opposing lanes now, wherever it can reasonably and safely be done,” Jensen wrote in the petition.
The proposed interim measures include concrete median barriers or other engineered barriers installed in phases.
Residents who signed the petition cited speeding, unsafe passing and the highway’s two-way traffic as safety concerns.
The petition also points to other fatal crashes along the highway. In March, a 22-year-old man died after being ejected from a Jeep during a collision with a Tesla, according to KSAT. A 21-year-old was killed in an August 2025 crash involving two overturned vehicles, according to KRIS 6.
TxDOT has planned improvements for Highway 361 that include separating opposing lanes of traffic.
Jensen said the community wants preventive measures while those larger projects move forward.
“We cannot undo the accidents that have already happened. But we can do something to help prevent the next one,” he wrote.