New Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge, opened June 28, 2025

[Plutonic Panda]

Looks like the ribbon cutting is on May 10th: https://www.equipmentworld.com/roadbuilding/article/15742858/txdot-to-open-new-corpus-christi-bridge

[jgb191]

Looks like the ribbon cutting is on May 10th: https://www.equipmentworld.com/roadbuilding/article/15742858/txdot-to-open-new-corpus-christi-bridge

According to our local news broadcasts, the exclusive traffic on ribbon-cutting day will be the Flatiron executives and local/state politicians including Governor Abbott, who plans to come over to visit our city.  While the bridge itself will be fully completed by May 10, still more of the final phases of the overall project including completing the connection of the new bridge to US-181/TX-35 (northern end) and I-37/TX-286 (southern end) along with other finishing touches like new lighting, signs and barriers.  The hope is that the bridge will be fully opened to all traffic before Memorial weekend 2025.  The old Harbor bridge (we were informed) will also remain open for at least another month or two after the new bridge opens, then decommissioned and taken down sometime before Labor Day 2025, and fully cleared by early next year.  That's the tentative plan for now, of course the schedule could still be subject to pushbacks if needed.

[sprjus4]

Looks like the ribbon cutting is on May 10th: https://www.equipmentworld.com/roadbuilding/article/15742858/txdot-to-open-new-corpus-christi-bridge

According to our local news broadcasts, the exclusive traffic on ribbon-cutting day will be the Flatiron executives and local/state politicians including Governor Abbott, who plans to come over to visit our city.  While the bridge itself will be fully completed by May 10, still more of the final phases of the overall project including completing the connection of the new bridge to US-181/TX-35 (northern end) and I-37/TX-286 (southern end) along with other finishing touches like new lighting, signs and barriers.  The hope is that the bridge will be fully opened to all traffic before Memorial weekend 2025.  The old Harbor bridge (we were informed) will also remain open for at least another month or two after the new bridge opens, then decommissioned and taken down sometime before Labor Day 2025, and fully cleared by early next year.  That's the tentative plan for now, of course the schedule could still be subject to pushbacks if needed.

I had heard about the existing bridge remaining open for a couple months after the new one opens... how exactly is that going to work? On the south side, it ties into downtown Corpus Christi and the new connections won't impact it, but on the northern side the freeway is being realigned to default straight onto the new bridge, instead of curving to go to the old one. There won't even be ramps there, that highway is being eventually removed.

How will this new / old bridge transition work if both are open?

[jgb191]

How will this new / old bridge transition work if both are open?

I didn't hear the reasons yet, but my best guess is that they want to open the new bridge as soon as possible, while they work on the north end connections and exits in and out of North Beach.  Drivers bound between North Beach to and from downtown will have to continue using the old bridge, while driver between downtown and Portland can use the new bridge.  Drivers coming southbound from Portland can still exit Beach Ave from the Nueces Bay Bridge and vice versa drivers going northbound to Portland can still enter US-181/TX-35 from Beach Ave.  I don't see any reasons those exits should be affected by the continued work.

[jgb191]

https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2025/04/27/corpus-christi-new-harbor-bridge-replacement-project/83217769007/

So our local "newspaper" The Caller has provided some clarity over the status and fate of the current (old) bridge.

If it's not letting you read it, I'll give you a couple of things from there.

In July, all traffic on the old bridge will close, and the decommissioning project to demolish it will begin, said Lynn Allison, public information officer with Flatiron/Dragados LLC, the firm constructing the bridge.

Once the new Harbor Bridge opens to traffic, TxDOT will close the old bridge's southbound lanes leading from North Beach to Corpus Christi.
Northbound lanes on the old bridge will stay open until about July to allow people to travel to North Beach while workers finish construction on the U.S. Highway 181 northbound alignment, Allison said.

So my guess is confirmed that the old bridge is still needed to get to North Beach from the main city (via downtown) for a couple more months after the new bridge is opened to traffic.

[Plutonic Panda]

It looks like the ribbon cutting date has been postponed: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0MyB1CRpp8sAdAS4Ci1D8BAugNSfyCn2JSiM8mswzd3L24U2BLhaAiN9HE8q1bU9vl&id=100064467948727&mibextid=wwXIfr

[Thegeet]

Ribbon Cutting on June 28! https://www.kristv.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/corpus-christi/downtown/new-harbor-bridge-ribbon-cutting-scheduled-for-june-28

[jgb191]

Ribbon Cutting on June 28! https://www.kristv.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/corpus-christi/downtown/new-harbor-bridge-ribbon-cutting-scheduled-for-june-28

Unless more construction work pushes the date back again....can't rule that possibility out.

[Thegeet]

Also, what looks like a crack addressed here:https://www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/spokesperson-bridge-developer-addresses-crack-concern-traffic-and-safety-during-presentation/503-f8e7b26e-e424-4f0a-b1ae-ccdd786b1cff

[Chris]

It would've been nice if they opened it on June 19. That's the 2025 date for Corpus Christi. Is this holiday observed in the U.S.?

[Thegeet]

Potential safety hazard on the bridge here: https://www.facebook.com/100063953201128/posts/1172021831606246/?_rdr

[bwana39]

The contractor thinks it is just a coating (think paint) failure where water from the weephole got under the coating / sealant and caused it to split.

Paranoia surrounds this bridge because FIGG designed it. 3rd party engineers went over the design with a fine toothed comb. Just like any project, there are going to be punch list items that need repaired immediately before (and even after) the opening. It needs to be viewed with diligence, but not condemned just because of the firm who drew it up.

[TXtoNJ]

It would've been nice if they opened it on June 19. That's the 2025 date for Corpus Christi. Is this holiday observed in the U.S.?

No, the US is Protestant at its core

[Thegeet]

The contractor thinks it is just a coating (think paint) failure where water from the weephole got under the coating / sealant and caused it to split.

Paranoia surrounds this bridge because FIGG designed it. 3rd party engineers went over the design with a fine toothed comb. Just like any project, there are going to be punch list items that need repaired immediately before (and even after) the opening. It needs to be viewed with diligence, but not condemned just because of the firm who drew it up.

I will say this: balancing time, money, and safety isn't exactly the easiest task. So props to them for handling it at all.

Now, concerning the deformation: do y'all believe it is indeed a coating peeling? Or do y'all believe there's something even bigger in there? I can tell ya this: many people who saw the posts are changing their minds of ever going on that bridge. I stand currently cautious at the moment, but would like some more opinions.

[sprjus4]

https://x.com/harborbridgeprj/status/1938360660456325332?s=46&t=vBXfR-rK6AmD--h4t8sQCA

9 years and $1.2 billion later, the southbound lanes of the new Harbor Bridge will officially open to traffic on Saturday, June 28.

[thisdj78]

Current view from my hotel. I'm here till 6/29, if I have a chance to drive across it, I will:

[Thegeet]

The Ribbon Cutting is right here live I think! https://www.kristv.com/live

[Chris]

Here are two photos of the ribbon-cutting by state senator Adam Hinojosa:

[sprjus4]

Some screen grabs I was able to get from a few news reports, along with one poster on Twitter who drove over it in the last 15 minutes.

It is officially open to all traffic southbound, and the old bridge southbound lanes are now permanently closed.

[thisdj78]

Drove across the bridge earlier this evening:

[sprjus4]

Here's a video posted on YouTube driving from Portland, across the causeway and over the new bridge, to the SH-286 Crosstown Expressway in Corpus Christi.

The new bridge starts around 5:00. Very seamless transition on either end. SH-286 and US-181 now form one continuous highway with no tight turns through Downtown.

https://youtu.be/7k7ReGL731A?si=g577MwVVTj9n6RRS

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One thing that I'm not necessarily a huge fan of with this project is the entrance to downtown Corpus Christi from SH-286 / US-181. The ramps (poor geometry, 15 mph turns) dump you onto frontage roads where you quickly have to merge two lanes across to connect with another ramp. And if you don't make that turn, it dumps you in a completely separate area of downtown that I-37 never previously went to.

Traffic coming in from I-37, meanwhile, is a seamless freeway right until the old bridge location.

I think if anything, I-37 should be terminated at the new US-181 / SH-286 interchange and downgraded the rest of the way. Eliminate the frontage roads and allow the ramps to/from US-181 / SH-286 merge straight into the mainline. There's zero need for any freeway overpasses beyond the new bridge interchange.

I don't think much thought was put into the Downtown connections, and it might get more traffic than they anticipated. I imagine it will be redone in the not-so-distant future.

[The Road Warrior]

Here's a video posted on YouTube driving from Portland, across the causeway and over the new bridge, to the SH-286 Crosstown Expressway in Corpus Christi.

The new bridge starts around 5:00. Very seamless transition on either end. SH-286 and US-181 now form one continuous highway with no tight turns through Downtown.

https://youtu.be/7k7ReGL731A?si=g577MwVVTj9n6RRS

-

One thing that I'm not necessarily a huge fan of with this project is the entrance to downtown Corpus Christi from SH-286 / US-181. The ramps (poor geometry, 15 mph turns) dump you onto frontage roads where you quickly have to merge two lanes across to connect with another ramp. And if you don't make that turn, it dumps you in a completely separate area of downtown that I-37 never previously went to.

Traffic coming in from I-37, meanwhile, is a seamless freeway right until the old bridge location.

I think if anything, I-37 should be terminated at the new US-181 / SH-286 interchange and downgraded the rest of the way. Eliminate the frontage roads and allow the ramps to/from US-181 / SH-286 merge straight into the mainline. There's zero need for any freeway overpasses beyond the new bridge interchange.

I don't think much thought was put into the Downtown connections, and it might get more traffic than they anticipated. I imagine it will be redone in the not-so-distant future.

That segment is clearly not finished. That whole area will have to be rejiggered once they start tearing down the old bridge, as they will have to remove the approaches and exit ramps. If you look at the Twitter post shown earlier, the map page shows that the final design calls for a direct access to 35 from the frontage road after the interchange. Right now, that ramp forces you onto the exit taking you back to the old bridge, which will almost certainly no longer be the case once that bridge is closed. They will probably redesign it so that the ramp directly puts you on 35.

[ElishaGOtis]

Haven't seen those barrier shapes (F-shape) used in Texas for quite a bit. I would have thought single-slope is the preference for any new bridge project. Not even the temporary barriers are single-slope; they're all F-shape.

[CoreySamson]

So does I-37 now terminate at TX 286, or does it still end where it used to?

[The Road Warrior]

So does I-37 now terminate at TX 286, or does it still end where it used to?

I-37 still ends where it used to; no changes were made to that other than what was needed to reconstruct the interchange.