State Highway 361 has made a splash this year, and not in a good way. The 15-mile road runs the length of Mustang Island, linking Corpus Christi and Port Aransas.
For years, locals have considered 361 extremely dangerous. Deaths seem more common there than on other stretches of road. Corpus Christi Police Chief Floyd Simpson lost his life there in 2015. TxDOT has been planning improvements to 361 for years, with work scheduled to start by 2030. Public pressure may accelerate that timetable.
The road went viral during spring break 2026 for the worst of reasons: yet another senseless death, this time with the added sensationalism of a young man who fell from the roof of a Jeep while twerking.
A spate of deaths in August from several different wrecks has piqued the discussion again. Locals have become more vocal. Politicians have become involved.
Thousands of Stops in 30 Days
Texas Highway Patrol stepped up enforcement, and the speed limit was promptly lowered. The limit is now 50 mph, down from 60. Troopers are targeting 361 drivers. TxDOT’s own tally, posted at Monday’s meeting, shows 2,473 traffic stops in the first 30 days of the safety initiative, which began August 23. That is 545 citations, 1,860 warnings, and 54 arrests, 11 of them for driving while intoxicated. Roughly 80 stops a day on a 15-mile road.
Dramatically increasing patrols with the intent of stopping as many people as possible means more than a perception of greater safety. From a criminal defense lawyer’s perspective, it’s plain that traffic stops lead to more citations, searches, and arrests. Every one of those 2,473 stops was a conversation with a trooper that a driver did not plan on having.
Three Minutes
An easy way to avoid problems is to spend the extra three minutes going 50 instead of 60 on 361. That is really the difference over 15 miles. Check the math if you want: 15 minutes at 60, 18 minutes at 50.
If you find yourself in a pickle with a traffic ticket, or worse, after a stop on 361, give my office a call. Paying a ticket or going it alone after a criminal charge is bad judgment with long-term consequences. Getting help is the right move.
A Note from Monday Night
On September 21, TxDOT’s SH 361 Safety Conversation at Island in the Son United Methodist Church packed the parking lot and the building with residents who want 361 safer. It was a come-and-go open house rather than a formal presentation: proposals on easels, TxDOT staff taking comments one-on-one. If you missed it, TxDOT is taking suggestions at SH361_Safety@txdot.gov.
