I've been looking for an opportunity to explore some new roads over the past year, and I got my wish this past week. I wanted to do something a little fun for my high school graduation/19th birthday, so I decided to take a short day trip to Corpus Christi to check it out. Here's my summary of the trip:
The Way There:
I started out by taking TX 288 to Angleton, and going southwest on TX 35 from there. I drove on TX 35 all the way to a couple miles south of Port Lavaca. From there, I took FM 2433, TX 238, and TX 316 (workers were doing some resurfacing on that road, fyi) to go to the ghost town of Indianola. There I saw a statue of explorer Robert La Salle and a marker near the old county courthouse that was abandoned after the town was annihilated by two hurricanes in 11 years. All that remains there today is a small fishing community. It is quite a peaceful, quiet spot that is interesting historically. I made my way back to 35 and continued down towards Corpus.
Not too much else happened on the drive down save for a stupid amusing incident that happened just to the south of Tivoli. Apparently a resurfacing project for this section of route recently finished, and there was almost no evidence of construction; except that the workers forgot to change the speed limit signs from 60 mph back to 75 mph as they were before the project. Hence, as I was judiciously following the speed limit, a Toyota 4runner passed me and pulled back in front of me a mere foot or so from my bumper. There was no opposing traffic at the time, so I suppose he was trying to spite me for following the law. :shrug:
For some reason this is a problem I've seen from TxDOT elsewhere in the past (notably US 59 near Nacogdoches), so part of me wonders if they are experimenting with lower speed limits under the guise of work zone speed limits.
Corpus Christi:
Once I started to enter the Corpus suburbs, I was struck by how much construction there is going on right now. TxDOT is not only replacing the Harbor Bridge and approaches to it; they are also redoing the TX 181/TX 35 interchange in Gregory along with the main lanes in the area (that was a particularly nasty construction zone) and the TX 35/FM 1838 intersection in Aransas Pass is getting an interchange. The new Harbor Bridge is taking shape. They are starting to work on the main span's towers over the road deck but I could not see much active construction going on from my perspective. It is definitely the most imposing bridge I have ever seen (especially from the northern approach), even more than the I-10 Lake Charles bridge or the Horace Wilkinson Bridge.
Once in CC, I ate lunch at the flagship Whataburger in downtown. After that, I crossed the Harbor Bridge again and spent most of the afternoon on the USS Lexington. It should be a must do if you are visiting CC on vacation if you are able-bodied and interested in that sort of thing.
The Way Back:
A portable VMS near the US 181/TX 35 intersection had informed me earlier that the freeway would be closed about the time I planned on leaving the area, so I took a different way home. I took I-37 to US 77 to Spur 91 to US 59 instead of taking 35 back. I was pleasantly surprised about how much of this route was 75 mph, but honestly, it is one of the most boring stretches of highway I have used. At least the windmills looked pretty. Now for some I-69E construction updates, which is probably why most of you are reading this. The only areas on the route I took that had construction were the northern I-37/US 77 interchange and some minor feeder road construction in Victoria, which is slightly disappointing. NB I-37/US 77 is not signed for I-69E yet (I heard SB is, though), and there is no space on the current (recently replaced) BGSs for I-69E shields, so I suspect TxDOT is anticipating not signing I-69E north of I-37 for quite some time. No work was being done on potential Odem or Refugio bypasses.
I diverted from US 59 in Wharton and followed FM 1301 back to 35 in West Columbia, clinching it in the process. It is probably the most abandoned road I've ever been on; I counted 6 minutes without seeing a car go the other direction. After that I followed 35 and 288 back home.
I was able to see a lot on this trip (my first real road trip since January 2020). I picked up 7 new counties, clinched 4 new routes, and drove numerous new roads.
P.S.
I think Corpus Christi should be seriously considered for a potential road meet location in 2024-2025 or so. Lots of new stuff is either opening around that time or has opened recently:
- New Harbor Bridge and Downtown Freeways
- I-69E Driscoll Bypass
- I-37/I-69E interchanges
- TX 44 Freeway
- TX 35 Copano Bay Bridge
- New US 181/TX 35 Interchange
... not to mention tons of other stuff in the area that has probably never been explored by a large percentage of the road geek fandom; leading me to believe that a road meet here would be a hit.
