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[Grzrd]

This article reports that the Texas Transportation Commission recently approved funding to advance the second causeway to South Padre Island and Outer Parkway projects ....
This map shows the relationship between the two projects:

(above quote from Texas thread)

This article reports that the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority ("CCRMA") is currently conducting a survey to help CCRMA better understand residents’ travel patterns and preferences to determine better planning decisions for the second bridge and that environmental clearance for the project is hoped to be received by Fall 2015:

The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority is seeking the public’s input in a survey meant to determine residents’ needs for a second bridge to South Padre Island ....
The project will also include the construction of another tolled road, the outer parkway, which will stretch east from I-69/US 77, just north of Harlingen. This outer parkway will connect to the planned second access, which will be located north of Holly Beach and lead to South Padre Island between Cameron County beach accesses 5 and 6. This location was approved in July 2012.
“(The outer parkway) is a key component so we can get traffic from I-69 directly to the island,” Sepulveda said.
The tolled parkway and the second access will serve as an alternate access to South Padre Island, in addition to the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge, which is the only existing route connecting South Padre Island to the mainland ....

(above quote from Texas thread)

.... a December 29, 2014 article that reports on the belief that the SPI 2nd Access will greatly expand the Cameron County tax base, reports on studies indicating that, on peak weekends, 40% of the traffic going to SPI will come from Hidalgo County, reports that FM 1925 will be upgraded to serve "as an alternative to I-2" for the beach traffic by going from I-69C north of I-2 to connect with the Outer Parkway at I-69E (with long-term TxDOT plans to extend it to Starr and Zapata counties, which would put it close to Laredo and Webb County) ....
Here is a snip of a slide from the November, 2014 Border to Border Conference referenced in the Dec. 29 article:

(above quote from Interstate 2 thread)

This September 13 article provides updates on the South Padre Island ("SPI") 2nd Access, the Outer Parkway, and FM 1925. It also reports that the hope is for there to be an "ultimate connection" to create one corridor from the three projects:

Officials continue planning a second causeway to South Padre Island ....
That’s according to a recent update from the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority for fiscal year 2015.
The ambitious project of a second access to the Island is under review by the Federal Highway Administration. CCRMA submitted the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project to FHWA in December 2014 and expects a decision by the end of 2016.
If the second-access project gets a green light from FHWA, then comes the matter of funding it. The estimated cost of the project is $680 million. CCRMA Chief Financial Officer Adrian Rincones said building a new causeway likely will require a combination of public and private funds.
Before any private investors would be willing to commit, however, a “traffic and revenue” study would have to be conducted, he said. That by itself could cost $3 million, Rincones said. The new causeway would be a toll road unless another way can be found to pay for it, he said.
“SPI is one of those that if we get enough money from the state to build it, it might not be a toll road, but right now it’s planned that way.” ....
Cameron County Administrator David Garcia ....
The long-term goal is to connect the second access with another CCRMA project, the $180 million Outer Parkway, which would consist of roughly 20 miles of east-west tollway, two lanes in each direction, stretching from I-69E to General Brant Road, which is about to receive a much needed rehabilitation.
The Outer Parkway could be connected to Hidalgo County via another item on CCRMA’s wish list: FM 1925. That project would extend FM 1925, or Monte Cristo Road, into Cameron County and link it to the currently nonexistent Outer Parkway north of Harlingen.
Garcia said FM 1925 would provide a parallel route to I-2 (formerly U.S. 83) and an efficient way for University of Texas Rio Grande Valley students and faculty to travel between the university’s various Valley campuses.
“That’s one major reason,” he said. “But we also need to have a connection that plans for the future in terms of northern Cameron County and that part of Hidalgo County, which is growing. The ultimate connection would be from that corridor to the Island.”

With the idea being that the three projects will one day create one corridor, I decided to start a new thread about the three projects.

[MaxConcrete]

I think it will be very unlikely that the $680 million toll bridge to South Padre Island will be financially viable with tolls alone. The $180 million outer parkway increases the overall project cost to $860 million, even less feasible. I have not seen any studies or projections, but I would be surprised if tolls could cover 50%.

Which begs the question: could proposition 7 money (assuming it is approved by voters in November) be directed to this project? San Antonio has already detolled the planned US 281 extension, and Dallas-Fort Worth has a preliminary list of candidate projects to be detolled, including SH 170, Loop 9, and the Collin County Outer Loop. But with all the other toll roads proposed for the Valley, maybe others will rank higher for being detolled.

[Grzrd]

The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority ("CCRMA") has posted a Notice for a March 1, 2016 Industry Outreach Meeting "in anticipation of issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to develop, design, construct, operate and maintain through a Concession Agreement the SPI 2nd Access Bridge and the Outer Parkway":

Be advised that the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority (CCRMA) intends to conduct an Industry Outreach Meeting in anticipation of issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to develop, design, construct, operate and maintain through a Concession Agreement the SPI 2nd Access Bridge and the Outer Parkway.
The SPI 2nd Access Bridge project location is in the Laguna Vista, Texas and South Padre Island, Texas area. The Outer Parkway Road project location is north of Harlingen, Texas to the Laguna Vista, Texas area. Both projects are located in Cameron County, Texas with the intent to improve safety and mobility, enhance system continuity and foster economic development in this region, through a comprehensive development agreement.
The Industry Outreach Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 9am at the Hilton Garden Hotel, 7010 Padre Boulevard at South Padre Island, Texas.

This article reports that the Texas Transportation Commission recently approved funding to advance the second causeway to South Padre Island and Outer Parkway projects ....
This map shows the relationship between the two projects

(above quote from Texas thread)

This map provides an updated depiction of the Outer Parkway's routing, including its western connection to FM 1925 and its eastern connection to the FM 106 extension (General Brant Highway), which in turn connects to the South Padre Island 2nd Access:

[Grzrd]

The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority ("CCRMA") has posted a Notice for a March 1, 2016 Industry Outreach Meeting "in anticipation of issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to develop, design, construct, operate and maintain through a Concession Agreement the SPI 2nd Access Bridge and the Outer Parkway"

The CCRMA has posted its March 1 presentation about the project. Here is a snip from a slide showing the three components of the South Padre Island 2nd Access (p. 6/26 of pdf):

[MaxConcrete]

The CCRMA has posted its March 1 presentation about the project. Here is a snip from a slide showing the three components of the South Padre Island 2nd Access (p. 6/26 of pdf):

I can't see any way the $715 million bridge can be even remotely financially viable with tolls. For example, 5% interest on that amount is $36 million, which would require around 20,000 vehicles per day at a $5 toll. They will probably be lucky to get 2000 vehicles per day.

My suspicion is that local authorities want to promote real estate development. There is a vast distance of undeveloped beach as well as ample undeveloped land on the mainland. Still, fully developing the area will take decades, and would not necessarily increase traffic substantially.

But it does look like they have come a long way on getting the permits. At 8 miles long, it will be by far the longest bridge in Texas.

[Grzrd]

The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority gave project updates for all three projects to the City Of South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation on August 16. First, the next steps for the South Padre Island 2nd Access include an environmental clearance no later than June, 2017 (p.5/7 of pdf):



Next, at an estimated cost of $180 million, the Outer Parkway is expected to receive environmental clearance in December, 2017 (p. 6/7 of pdf):



Finally, since FM 1925, at a cost of $120 million, is a joint project of Cameron County and Hidalgo County, TxDOT will provide project coordinatom (p.7/7 of pdf):

[Grzrd]

The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority gave project updates for all three projects to the City Of South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation on August 16 ....
Finally, since FM 1925, at a cost of $120 million, is a joint project of Cameron County and Hidalgo County, TxDOT will provide project coordinatom (p.7/7 of pdf):

TxDOT has added the materials from the meeting. Here is a snip of the map of the Project Area from the Presentation (p. 6/18 of pdf):

(bottom quote from Interstate 2 thread)

This November 9 article sets forth TxDOT's long-term plans for FM 1925 that will ultimately connect State Loop 195 (future Interstate 2) at FM 755 in Starr County to the South Padre Island Second Causeway:

The Texas Department of Transportation is working on a plan to create a new east-west corridor in the northern part of the Rio Grande Valley that would connect Roma to a second causeway at South Padre Island.
TxDOT’s Pharr District Engineer Pedro “Pete” Alvarez said the corridor will be needed because the Valley is expected to add one million more people over the next 25 years, growing from 1.4 million to 2.4 million by 2040 ....
Alvarez made the above comments in a presentation at the 1st Annual State of Regional Mobility and Infrastructure Luncheon hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership in Edinburg recently. He expanded on his analysis of where the growth will occur in an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian on Thursday, following a luncheon hosted by the Society for Marketing Professional Services-Rio Grande Valley. The event focused on transportation issues in Hidalgo County.
In his interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Alvarez said a new corridor from Roma to South Padre Island would shave about an hour off the two and a half hours it takes currently using U.S. 83, Interstate 2, Interstate I-69 East, and U.S. 100.
Alvarez said the new corridor would be built in phases, connecting different segments.
“There are several segments. There is state loop 195, a relief route between Roma and Rio Grande City. There would be a connection between FM 755 and the Hidalgo County Loop. The route would go along the Hidalgo County Loop, and then along FM 1925, the Monte Cristo project, from U.S. 281 to U.S. 77. It would then connect to the Outer Parkway project, that Cameron County RMA is working on, which goes from U.S. 77 to FM 106. The FM 106 project, which is currently under construction, would go to the Second Causeway,” Alvarez said.
“So, the route as a whole has five or six different segments in it but it is intended to be a parallel corridor to connect the northern part of the Valley.” ....
Alvarez said there is no question that the first phase that needs to be built is the one connecting Hidalgo and Cameron counties, because that is where most people in the Valley live.
“If we look at it as a phased approach we need to connect Hidalgo County to Cameron County and South Padre Island first. The other parts of the project would come in future years. The congestion that is being experienced in Roma, Escobares and Rio Grande City is because U.S. 83 is handling over 40,000 vehicles a day on a five-lane roadway. That roadway cannot handle that much traffic, that is why there is congestion. The important thing is to provide a relief route for commuters who are going from the Valley to, say, Laredo, along the U.S. 83 corridor.”
Asked how long before a new east-west corridor is built in the northern part of the Valley, Alvarez said:
“I would say within the next five to seven years we would be in a position to start looking for construction funding. Right now, we have preliminary schematics. We are working on the environmental. We are going to start the right of way acquisition process and so we are moving along, ready for construction in five to seven years, should the funding be available.” ....