January 13, 2024

The ‘Crash Capital’ of Austin: Where The Most Injury Accidents Happen

Written by Funk & Associates Personal Injury Lawyers citing Phil Kearney & Michelle Richter from the Austin Police Department Planning Unit

This week Funk and Associates received a report about which intersections in Austin saw the most injury accidents between Oct. 15, 2020 and Oct. 21, 2023. The info comes to us courtesy of the Austin Police Department Planning Unit.

We’ve written before about the most dangerous intersections in Austin, but the report tells us that there’s one specific place on Austin’s roadways that has more auto accidents where injuries and fatalities occur than any other.

So where is the “crash capital” of Austin?

Turns out it’s just a few yards north of our office building …

Koenig Lane And Auto Accidents Go Hand In Hand

Whether you call it 2222, Northland Dr., Allendale Rd. or Koenig Lane, the following three locations are where injury accidents happen more often than anywhere else in Austin:

East Koenig Lane (eastbound) and East US 290 Highway (eastbound)
East Koenig Lane (westbound service road) and East US 290 Highway (westbound service road)
East Koenig Lane (westbound) and East US 290 Highway (westbound)

For public safety records, if an intersection is within 50 feet of another they are added together to create a “cluster,” which is represented by the total number of crashes collectively. Because of the way the city classifies intersections, the following two adjacent locations are included in the accident tally:

North IH 35 (northbound) and North IH 35 (northbound to the La Posada ramp)
North IH 35 (southbound) and North IH 35 (southbound to the 53rd Street half-ramp)

Taken together, the locations above accounted for 36 reported injury crashes from 10/15/20 to 10/21/23.

History of The Koenig/I-35 Intersection

Koenig Lane (pronounced “KAY-nig”) is actually Spur 69, The signs along Spur 69 refer to it as “RM 2222,” rather than as Spur 69. It’s a short 1.2 miles of four-lane state-maintained roadway that forms a link between RM 2222 and US 290 at I-35.

Like all other Austin roads from the original urbanization of this part of Austin just after World War II, the Koenig Lane/2222 design is not great. The lanes are narrow, and there are sharp curves in the roadway. Lots of side streets and commercial establishments in this corridor mean cars are stopping and turning, while stationary vehicles in the left lane (waiting to turn left) create a traffic jam behind them.

In the 1960s and again in the 1980s, a westward extension of the freeway was planned from Lamar to IH-35, according to the website TexasFreeway. However, opposition from The Allandale Neighborhood Association was intense, and the freeway Koenig expansion was canceled.

Other Intersections With The Most Injury Auto Accidents

Other than the mess that is Koenig and I-35, the areas with the most injury crashes between 10/15/20 and 10/21/23 were:

Riverside Drive and 183 (21 accidents)
Ben White and I-35 (19 accidents)
183 and Lakeline Mall Drive (18 accidents)
Anderson Lane and Northcrest Blvd/Georgian Drive (16 accidents)
Ed Bluestein Blvd. and Loyola Lane (15 accidents)
N. Lamar Blvd. and W Rundberg Land (15 accidents)
Four Points Dr. and North FM 620 Road (14 accidents)
S. 1st Street and W, Stassney Lane (13 accidents)
E. Stassney Lane and S. Congress Ave. and W Stassney Lane (13 accidents)
Foremost Dr. and S Congress Ave. (13 accidents)
Mearns Meadow Blvd. and Rutland Dr. (13 accidents)
Barton Springs Road and S. 1st Street (13 accidents)
E. Riverside Dr and Wickersham Lane (12 accidents)
E. William Cannon Dr. and S. Congress Ave. and W William Cannon Dr. (12 accidents)
Decker Lake Road and Decker Lane and Loyola Lane (12 accidents)
E. Parmer Lane and E. Yager Lane (12 accidents)
Burton Dr. and E. Riverside Dr and Tinnin Ford Road (12 accidents)
E. Oltorf Street and S. Congress Ave. and W. Oltorf Street (12 accidents)
E. Anderson Lane (eastbound) and Ed Bluestein Blvd. (southbound) (11 accidents)
S. 1st Street and W. William Cannon Dr. (11 accidents)
N. Lamar Blvd. and N. Lamar Blvd. (northbound) and N Lamar Blvd (southbound) and W. Powell Lane (11 accidents)
Barton Springs Road and S Lamar Blvd. and S Lamar Blvd (northbound) and S. Lamar Blvd (southbound) (10 accidents)
Dessau Road and E. Braker Lane (10 accidents)
E. Riverside Dr. and S. Congress Ave. and W. Riverside Dr. (10 accidents)
Burnet Road and W. Braker Lane (10 accidents)
Canyon Ridge Dr. and Tech Ridge Blvd (10 accidents)
N Lamar Blvd. and Rutland Dr (10 accidents)
Guadalupe Street and W. 6th Street (10 accidents)
Cedar Bend Dr. and Metric Blvd. (10 accidents)

To see the full report from the Austin Police Department, click here.

How to Handle Koenig Lane Like a Pro

Austin has plans to fix some of its most dangerous intersections. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t important that you—the driver—don’t take responsibility and drive in the safest manner possible.

Here are other tips that can keep you and others out of harm’s way:

Avoid speeding through yellow lights. Proceed with caution and watch out for other drivers who run red lights.
Avoid using your phone, applying makeup, or eating—or anything else that would create a distraction.
Use turn signals to alert other drivers around you about your intention to change lanes
Watch out for pedestrians. Even in the area around Koenig and I-35, you never know when someone is (legally or not) going to be in the roadway.
Keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the car in front of you. Don’t tailgate.

An Expert Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

Often through no fault of their own, drivers on Koenig Lane and all over the Austin metropolitan area are injured by the carelessness or negligence of others.

If you’ve been injured in an Austin-area auto accident, know that we are here to make the legal process easier for you to navigate. Give us a call at 512-472-3865 or contact us online today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Austin attorney.