McGregor, Texas man concerned about bridge that trapped two drivers during recent flash floods

MCGREGOR, Texas (KWTX) - A McGregor resident is speaking up, hoping the county will fix a bridge that has already caused two drivers to get stuck in high waters in the past month.

In the past six years he’s lived in McGregor, resident Chick Cowan has witnessed many close calls on the small bridge on Indian Trail.

“I’m aware of at least four rescues over the last five years. There have been other cars that have gone down the creek, but I don’t know if they were rescued or if they were able to pull out themselves, I don’t know which,” Cowan recalled.

Cowan lives on a property on the creek that overlooks the bridge and says after he witnessed the swift water rescue on June 12th, he had to speak up about the conditions to the County Commissioner.

Cowan says the concrete slabs at the base of the bridge needs to be fixed so that cars won’t fall into the river.

“If it’s real muddy, no one’s going to know where they are and I may not find the vehicle for a week or so, because it’s nearly two miles downstream before there’s any structure to stop a vehicle,” Cowan explained.

He also added that there should be flashing signs near the bridge which can detect rising water levels and alert drivers.

After he met with County Commissioner for precinct four and the County Engineer in late June, another driver got stuck in the same place on July 7th.

Cowan says he hopes that officials will make changes soon to prevent another person from being caught.

“Very optimistic the session was very positive they identified the problem but that was before the issue in south Texas, so I know the overall awareness has been heightened since then.”