KIRBY, Texas – While driving down Ackerman Road past Binz Engelman Road, heading toward Interstate 10, drivers say they keep a close eye on the brake lights of the vehicle ahead.
Before drivers get to the “Welcome to Kirby” sign, something else gets their attention — a deep dip in the road.
“The first day I came over here, we came down this road, and then I went to go work,” Wymjay Martinez said. “I did not know the dip was really bad. Next thing I know, I hear my bumper go out.”
Martinez said that’s what happened to him within a day or two of moving to Kirby, and he’s very aware of it when he drives on that road.
John Falcon shared the dip did not damage his vehicle, but it did leave a mark.
“It did scratch the bottom of my vehicle. I mean, it didn’t damage it, but it did scratch it,” Falcon said. “You know, there’s several indents on the floor there, down on the road that, you know, it’s shows that damage has been (done).”
He and Martinez agreed that bottoming out once is all most drivers need to remember to slow down when they go over it or go around it.
A neighbor shared a video with KSAT showing at least two drivers hitting the dip and going airborne. One of those videos even shows sparks flying when their vehicle made a hard landing.
Falcon said he seen the dip do more than just that.
“I was driving home late night once; somebody jumped it, totaled the car, and it went into the, what’s it called? The auction,” Falcon said.
The two men added that the signage referring to the dip is far from adequate to warn drivers or serve as a solution for them.
“I know that (there) is a sign, right? But it does not kind of correlate how big the dip is,” Martinez said.
Falcon said, “You know that’s the funny part, they’d rather put their sign than fix it, you know, just to let people know.”
Other neighbors who declined to go on camera told KSAT the dip has been filled over the years, including a recent fill a few months ago.
However, Ackerman Road has a lot of heavy traffic, including massive trucks, and drivers said the material used to fill the dip erodes quickly, causing the dip to return.
But they all say the road needs a permanent fix.
Since the deep dip is a few feet from the “Welcome to the City of Kirby” sign, some people are unsure whether Kirby or San Antonio is responsible for the repairs. They said the dip is on the Kirby-San Antonio city line.
KSAT contacted city officials in both Kirby and San Antonio and is awaiting a response about which city has jurisdiction.
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