Austin, TX
What are the black tubes that run across Texas roads?
TEXAS (KXAN) — Those traveling across Texas have probably seen — and driven over — a slew of black cords running across roadways. But what exactly are they, and how are they used?
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) calls them “pneumatic road tubes,” an in-roadway sensor that can help detect and track vehicles traveling on roads. They’re typically used as short-term traffic counts, with some models having the ability to gather data related to the following:
- Gaps between vehicles
- Intersection stop delays
- Stop Sign delays
- Saturation flow rate
- Spot speed
- Traveling time
Alongside their uses in short-term traffic counts, they can be used to detect vehicle classification (via axle count and spacing) as well as assist with planning and research studies. But how, exactly, do they work?
How does it work?
The tubes are portable and are placed perpendicular to the direction of the traffic flow. When a vehicle’s tires drive over the tube, the tube’s sensors “send a burst of air pressure along a rubber tube,” per the FHWA.
That air pressure pulses close to an air switch, which is able to create an electrical signal that’s then sent back to a counter or analysis software synced with the tube.
Here in the Lone Star State, the Texas Department of Transportation collects roughly 82,000 short-term traffic volume counts each year along with approximately 1,000 vehicle classification counts, per its traffic count maps database. Among those counts collected, nearly half of them — 46.9% — are used to track traffic volume, according to the database.
The state department has more than 300 permanent count locations across Texas that collect data around the clock. KXAN reached out to TxDOT to confirm how many pneumatic road tubes are used as part of those traffic data collections. We will update this story once we’ve received a response.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.
The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:
- 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
- 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
- 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
- 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
- 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
- 26th in urban fatality rate
- 42nd in rural fatality rate
- 41st in traffic congestion
“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.
The full report can be found online.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
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