Abilene residents plead for road repairs, board prioritizes other projects

At a recent Abilene Street Maintenance Board meeting, locals voiced concerns about North 21st Street, near Hendrick North, and Waldrop Drive, close to Wylie West Elementary.

Residents like Nicolas Dominguez on North 21st Street are asking for the roughly quarter-mile road to be repaved. The street currently lacks an asphalt coating, which residents say has created serious drainage problems.

“When it rains a lot of that water comes flowing down the streets here. See that levy right there? We built that because the water was going in… it still jumps and goes in,” Dominguez explained.

Waldrop Drive, meanwhile, has residents worried about its narrow width. At roughly 18 feet across, the road barely accommodates two large vehicles, like dually farm trucks or school buses, traveling in opposite directions. Some drivers have had to pull over to let larger vehicles pass safely.

Josh Ensor, a resident, expressed his concern bluntly:

“I want to selfishly clear my conscience because if somebody gets killed on Waldrop Drive by a car and they were jogging, walking, and I knew it was dangerous and I didn’t make the right people aware of it, then I think I would just beat myself up over it.”

Despite residents’ warnings, the Street Maintenance Board voted against repairing either road, instead prioritizing other street maintenance projects.