BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Road work that is meant to make life better for some people in northeast Bexar County instead is working their nerves.
It’s happening along Bent Meadow Drive, in a neighborhood in the unincorporated area of the county, near Converse.
On Wednesday morning, the entire length of the street in the 8100 block of Bent Meadow was covered in large stones. At one intersection nearby, there was also thick mud spread across the road.
Some people who live in the area said the combination of the two has made traveling there especially difficult.
“Our tires are shredded,” said Teresa Brothers. “I have to park at the end of the street. How is this acceptable?”
Brothers says she and her neighbors have been dealing with trouble stemming from the construction for the past three months.
“I don’t understand why they couldn’t do half and half,” she said. “Do half of that street, and then do half of this street.”
Brothers said she has several young children in her home, including some with disabilities, and just taking them outside has been nearly impossible.
Juanita Jackson, who lives farther down the street, near the muddy intersection, said she has to tread through the thick sludge every day just to get to her car.
“These are my shoes to get in my vehicle,” Jackson said, holding up mud-caked slippers. “Every day I have to clean my car, which is costing money. My tires are terrible.”
According to Bexar County’s Public Works Department, what some people see as a mess is actually part of a street improvement project.
Tiffany Payton, the department’s assistant public information officer, said in a written statement that the work began this past March and targets several streets in the Ventura Heights subdivision for upgrades.
She said Bent Meadow was the first street on the list for the improvements.
“There were holes, there were bumps and it was hard to drive,” said Tomas Ortiz, speaking of conditions before the road work started.
However, even as bad as things were then, he said it is worse now.
Ortiz said at one point before they installed the large rocks, the work crews tore up the street.
He said that left nothing there but mud, which ended up swallowing his daughter’s car one day.
“They couldn’t move it, so they pushed her car away,” Ortiz said. “Part of the bottom of her car was broken because of the mud that was here. It was terrible.”
While many of his neighbors have tales of trouble related to the road project, Brett Gilmore sees it as part of the price of progress.
“It’s an inconvenience but it’s a must,” Gilmore said. “Do you want raggedy streets, or do you want them fixed? You have to add an extra five to 10 minutes to your day if you’re leaving.”
In her statement, Payton said homeowners could see a bit of relief soon. She said crews will bring in other materials by the weekend to make the road a bit smoother.
If weather permits, Payton said, they could finish paving the road next week.
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