After Monday morning head-on collision, Cove bypass could reopen late Tuesday

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Update as of 12:30 p.m. CST Tuesday July 30: 

Ken Roberts with TxDOT advised that they are still working on the temporary barrier so that the bypass can reopen, possibly by Tuesday evening. He expects that it will be open on Wednesday. The shoulder where the section of railing was destroyed in the collision will be replaced after a new railing is fabricated. That shoulder of I-14 will remain closed but the travel lanes of the reliever route will remain open, Roberts said.

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The U.S. Highway 190 bypass around Copperas Cove has remained closed, a little more than 24 hours after an early-morning head-on collision that injured the drivers of two vehicles, one of them seriously.

According to Kenneth Roberts, public information officer for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Waco District, the bypass could reopen as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

“We are currently working to get a temporary barrier in place, with the intent of having that done and the bypass reopened sometime tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon,” Roberts wrote in a late Monday afternoon email. “The shoulder will be closed in this area until repairs are made, which could take several weeks.”

The damage was caused after a collision on the bypass bridge between a westbound Hyundai and an eastbound 18-wheeler shortly after 6:32 a.m. on Monday, when the Hyundai crossed into the oncoming traffic lane and struck the Freightliner head on.

The operator of the Hyundai was transported by Air Evac to Scott & White hospital in Temple, Texas with apparent severe injuries. The driver of the Freightliner was transported to Advent Health by Copperas Cove EMS with non-life-threatening injuries, and was released later that morning.

The Leader-Press will provide updates on this developing story.