US 59 inbound shut at Chimney Rock ramp after major crash

A major crash on the US 59 inbound entrance ramp at Chimney Rock brought traffic to a standstill early Monday morning. Responding officers were dispatched around 6:27 AM and found wreckage blocking the ramp leading to the IH 610 inbound connector.

This crash lands in a congested stretch. According to LocalTrafficAccidents.com data, the US 59 inbound-IH 610 inbound ramp at Chimney Rock has recorded 26 incidents over the past 30 days, with 17 classified as major. Over a 90-day period, the location saw 130 total incidents, 70 of them major. In the past year alone, this ramp has been the site of 348 crashes, 173 of them major, plus 4 fatalities.

Monday proved particularly active at this location historically. In the past 90 days, Mondays have been the highest-incident day at this ramp, with 19 crashes recorded. The timing pattern here is distinctive: most crashes fall outside weekday commute peaks, with the single busiest hour occurring between 1 and 2 PM, when 17 crashes have occurred.

Weather conditions were clear at the time of the crash—sunny skies and 79 degrees—so visibility and surface conditions were not factors.

Contributing factors as recorded by the investigating officer, per TxDOT CRIS public crash records, show "Failed To Control Speed" as the leading factor, cited in 545 crashes at this corridor since January 2020. Over that same period, state records document 1,349 total crashes within about a quarter-mile of this location, with a 12.0% hit-and-run rate.

Crew arrival and initial scene assessment took place within minutes. Lane reopening was underway by mid-morning, though residual congestion persisted as traffic funneled through reduced capacity during the recovery phase.