Geo-Locating and Identifying Wrong-Way Driving Entrance Points in Bexar County Highways by Implementing Mathematical Modeling and Land-Use Impact Assessment

Wrong-way driving (WWD) leads to high severity crashes and is a major concern for transportation managers. This study aims to identify WWD entry points of urban highway ramps and develop an analysis methodology using basic knowledge of WWD occurrences. The methodology examines the origin and driving behavior of impaired drivers by utilizing a land-use impact assessment (alcohol-serving establishments (ASE) proximity to exit ramps) and analyzing three distinct mathematical models: wrong-way driving events excluding 911 call analysis, wrong-way driving events including 911 call analysis, and 911 calls without wrong-way driving crashes. Data were collected and implemented from Google Maps, the 911 call database, wrong-way crash database, ASE location database, and a video camera database of a recent WWD study. Out of a total 543 exit ramps, 213 exit ramps are associated with approximately 98% of total WWD entries. The hotspots analysis of WWD entrance locations have found four major hotspots locations in Bexar County, Texas study area: 410 Loop near Culebra Road and Jackson Keller Road, 1604 Loop near US-281 highway, and IH-10 near the Medical Drive area. Outcomes of this study include a methodology for determining WWD entry locations of regional highways.

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 corroborates heightened community infection during the initial peak of COVID-19 in Bexar County, Texas

The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary assessment of the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater at the Salitrillo Wastewater Treatment Plant in Texas during the initial peak of COVID-19 outbreak. Raw wastewater influent (24 h composite, time-based 1 L samples, n = 13) was collected weekly during June-August 2020. We measured SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater by reverse transcription droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR) using the same N1 and N2 primer sets employed in COVID-19 clinical testing. Virus RNA copies for positive samples (77%) ranged from 1.4×102 to 4.1×104 copies per liter of wastewater, and exhibited both increasing and decreasing trends, which corresponded well with the COVID-19 weekly infection rate (N1: ρ = 0.558, P = 0.048; and N2: ρ = 0.487, P = 0.092). A sharp increase in virus RNA concentrations was observed during July sampling dates, consistent with highest number of COVID-19 cases reported. This could be attributed to an increase in the spread of COVID-19 infection due to the July 4 holiday week gatherings (outdoor gatherings were limited to 100 people during that time). Our data show that wastewater surveillance is an effective tool to determine trends in infectious disease prevalence, and provide complimentary information to clinical testing.

Establishing School-Based Health Services in South Bexar County, Texas

School-based health centers are an important avenue for students to receive timely clinical preventive care. In an effort to redesign delivery of health care to priority populations, University Health System, a major safety net hospital system located in South Central Texas, opened the first school-based health center in Bexar County, Texas. This article describes the planning process with emphasis on the community assessment as part of a strategy to promote community engagement and guide development of health services. Such synergistic efforts exemplify the importance of leveraging school, community, and health services to address regional disparities in child and adolescent health.

Cultural Resources Monitoring for the San Antonio Water Systems Sewer Line Repair Project, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Raba Kistner, Inc. (RKI) was contracted by K-Friese + Associates (CLIENT), on behalf of San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) to conduct archaeological monitoring for emergency repairs to a collapsed sewer lateral within West Houston Street in downtown San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The project involved the excavation of the area around the collapsed portion of the sewer lateral and the replacement of the damaged line. The project is located within the boundaries of a Catholic Cemetery and is between Milam Square (41BX991), which is a historic cemetery, and an area of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio where the first City Cemeteries have been documented. As such, the City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation (COSA OHP) required the monitoring of the excavation activities. The proposed project is located on lands controlled by the City of San Antonio and work was conducted by SAWS, both entities of the State of Texas. As such, the project falls under the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) (Texas Natural Resource Code, Title 9, Chapter 191). Furthermore, the project was also subject to review under Chapter 35 of the City of San Antonio’s Unified Development Code (UDC) (Article VI, Historic Preservation and Urban Design). All work was conducted in accordance with the Archeological Survey Standards for Texas as set forth by the Council of Texas Archeologists (CTA) and the THC under Texas Antiquities Committee Permit Number 9209. A desktop review was conducted to determine if any previously conducted archaeological investigations or any cultural resources had been documented within the APE. Review of the Texas Archeological Sites Atlas (Atlas), revealed that no previous archaeological surveys have been conducted within the APE and that no previously recorded archaeological sites have been documented within the APE. Cultural resources monitoring investigations for the project were conducted on December 21 and 22, 2019, and January 14, 2020. Antonio Padilla served as Project Manager and Principal Investigator, and all field work was conducted by Lindy Martinez and Susan Sincerbox. The undertaking involved the excavation of an approximately 34-foot-long (10 meter [m]-) north-south, 2.5–to–9-foot-wide east-west (0.5–to–2.74 m-) trench that extended from the sewer main located near the center of West Houston Street to the clean out located under the sidewalk north of West Houston Street. For archaeological purposes the Area of Potential Effects (APE) consisted of approximately 800 square feet or 0.018 acres. The depths of impacts reached a depth of 6 feet (1.8 m) below surface. During the investigations, it was discovered that the entire APE has been heavily impacted by previous construction events and the installation of utilities. Throughout the excavations, construction gravels reaching a depth of 6 feet (1.8 m) below surface were observed within the entire APE, and several utilities were encountered. No intact soils were present within the trench. It appears that previous construction events and installation of utilities have removed all intact soils to the depth reached by the trench. Due to the absence of intact soils, no soils were screened. Additionally, no cultural materials or cultural features were observed during the monitoring of the excavations. RKI has made a reasonable and good faith effort identifying cultural resources within the APE. No significant deposits or features were identified during cultural resource monitoring. As a result, RKI does not recommend further archaeological investigations within the APE. However, should changes be made to the APE, further work may be required. No diagnostic artifacts were collected during the course of the investigations, thus, no artifacts will be curated at the completion of the project. All field records generated during this project will be permanently curated at the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Cultural Resources Monitoring Investigations for the San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) Silverhorn Rehabilitation Project San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Raba Kistner, Inc. (RKI), was contracted by K Friese + Associates (CLIENT) to conduct cultural resources monitoring investigations for the San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) Silverhorn Rehabilitation Project in northern San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The project involved rehabilitating 3,690 linear feet of existing sewer line within the Silverhorn Golf Club, which is within the Walker Ranch National Register District. The majority of the proposed undertaking was conducted by non-invasive methods (i.e., cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP)); however, point repairs involving excavations were conducted in areas where broken pipe was encountered. Given that the proposed undertaking is located on lands owned by the City of San Antonio (COSA), and because COSA is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the project falls under the jurisdiction of Chapter 35 of the Unified Development Code (UDC) of the City of San Antonio, as well as the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). The UDC is regulated by the COSA Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), while the ACT is administered by the Texas Historical Commission (THC). Cultural resources investigations for the project were conducted on January 11, 12, and 24, 2020. Jason M. Whitaker served as Principal Investigator and Project Manager for the duration of the project, and all fieldwork was completed by Jason M. Whitaker and Christopher Matthews. All work was conducted in accordance with the standards set forth by the Council of Texas Archeologists and adopted by the Texas Historical Commission, under Texas Antiquities Committee Permit Number 9220. The overall undertaking consisted of the rehabilitation of approximately 3,690 linear feet of existing sewer line within the Silverhorn Golf Club. The majority of the project area was rehabilitated through the use of cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) with no subsurface impacts. However, four areas along the 3,960 sewer line alignment were in need of point repairs which required subsurface excavations. For archaeological purposes, the Area of Potential Effects (APE) was comprised of four areas where subsurface excavations were conducted. Excavation within the APE areas were comprised of a single backhoe trench measuring approximately 22.3 by 13.1 feet (6.8 meters [m] by 4.0 m) and three 5-inch diameter boreholes. The combined area of impact of the APE areas measured approximately 0.007 acres. Depths of impacts reached 10.33 feet below surface within the trench, and a depth of 5.5 feet below surface. Disturbances within the APE included the existing sewer line, golf course construction, and various associated utilities. The APE was located entirely within areas impacted by the installation of the existing sewer line and was evident during the monitoring of the excavations. Evidence of previous disturbances was observed during the monitoring of the point repairs. No cultural deposits or features were documented during monitoring excavations of the SAWS Silverhorn Rehabilitation Project. Additionally, no evidence of unmarked burials or human remains were observed. Given that excavations occurred over a previously excavated areas and no cultural materials were identified, RKI recommends no further archaeological investigations for the current APE. However, should additional point repairs along the existing sewer line be required, it is recommended that additional monitoring be conducted. All field records generated by this project will be permanently curated at the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Archaeological Investigations of Sections of the San Pedro (41BX337) and Upper Labor (41BX1273) Acequias in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

On January 21 and February 19 of 2020, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) excavated five exploratory backhoe trenches within two project areas in central San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Project Area 1 is located at 209 E. Fredericksburg Road, and Project Area 2 is at 712 W. Laurel Street. CAR was contracted by the VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority (VIAMTA) to conduct an archaeological investigation of the two locations as they planned to use the areas for employee parking lots. Plans called for the areas to be excavated to a total depth of 25.4 cm (10 in.), with 15.24 cm (6 in.) of new concrete and 10.16 cm (4 in.) of new base. Archival maps suggested that the proposed parking areas could include the intersection of two Spanish Colonial acequias, the San Pedro (41BX337) and the Upper Labor (41BX1273). Both areas are owned by VIA-MTA, a political subdivision of the State of Texas. As such, the work was carried out under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 9229 according to the requirements of the Texas Antiquities Code and the Unified Development Code of the City of San Antonio (COSA). Dr. Raymond Mauldin served as the Principal Investigator, and Sarah Wigley served as the Project Archaeologist. Five backhoe trenches were excavated in the two project areas. Three trenches were excavated in Project Area 1 and encompassed 0.024 ha (0.06 ac.). Two trenches were excavated within Project Area 2 and encompassed 0.089 ha (0.22 ac.). Four features were documented. Feature 1 was identified as a section of the Upper Labor Acequia (41BX1273), and Feature 3 was identified as a section of the San Pedro Acequia (41BX337). Feature 2 was a late construction dump and was found not to be significant. Feature 4 was documented within the channel of Feature 3 and is also part of 41BX337. The San Pedro Acequia (41BX337) has previously been found to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and is also eligible for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). The Upper Labor Acequia (41BX1273) has been previously recommended as eligible for the NRHP and for designation as a SAL. The acequia is also a contributing resource to Brackenridge Park’s NRHP nomination (National Park Service 2011). Both sites are a part of the San Antonio’s acequia system, which is a designated National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. CAR recommends that the section of the San Pedro Acequia (41BX337) and the section of the Upper Labor Acequia (41BX1273) documented during the course of this project are eligible for inclusion to the NRHP and for designation as a SAL. However, neither of these sites should be impacted by the proposed parking lot construction that has a maximum depth of impact of 25.4 cm (10 in.), which is a depth above the features. As such, CAR recommends that the construction of both parking areas be allowed to proceed, though with an archaeological monitor present. CAR further recommends that should buried cultural features be encountered during construction work in the immediate area cease and that the Texas Historic Commission (THC) and the COSA Office of Historic Preservation (COSA-OHP) be notified to consult on additional actions that may be necessary to protect the cultural remains. Both the THC and COSA-OHP concurred with the recommendations. However, prior to the issuance of the concurrence documents from the THC, VIA-MTA paved Project Area 2 (712 W. Laurel Street) without notifying CAR. No monitor was present for the excavation or paving. CAR subsequently photographed the area. In addition, VIA-MTA no longer plans to do any work in Project Area 1. No artifacts were collected from Project Area 1, but several historic artifacts were collected from Project Area 2. These artifacts along with all records generated on this project are curated at the CAR facility as accession 2259.