State Highway 286
SH 286 was commissioned in 1939 from Corpus Christi to the Chapman Ranch, a route it still follows today. The Crosstown Expressway was proposed in a 1958 expressway plan for Corpus Christi as part of a "freeway triangle" through the city.
SH 286 was originally routed along Port Avenue at U.S. 181 to Ayers Street, then south along Ayers Street to Chapman Ranch Road. The section from Port Avenue to Ayers Street where Ayers Street meets SH 358 was decommissioned with construction of the Crosstown Expressway.
There is one business loop along SH 286. BS 286A is routed along Ayers Street from SH 358 to SH 357, and was commissioned in 1995 with the completion of the frontage roads along the Crosstown Expressway extension.
Construction Timeline
- 1958: Freeway proposed in Corpus Christi.
- 1963: Construction begins on February 19 between IH 37 and Morris Street.
- 1964: Freeway opens between IH 37 and Morris Street on June 18.
- 1965: Freeway opens between Morris Street and Tarlton Street in December.
- 1969: Freeway opens between Tarlton Street and Gollihar St.
- 1970: Freeway opens between Gollihar Street and SH 358. Original freeway is completed.
- 1980: Freeway extension plans reactivated between SH 358 and SH 357.
- 1984: Crosstown Expressway extension approved by TxDOT.
- 1988: Final FHWA approval for Crosstown Expressway extension received.
- 1995: Frontage roads open along Crosstown Expressway extension. Plans for main freeway lanes dropped by TxDOT due to focus on Houston freeway funding. Ayers Street re-signed Business State(BS) 286A in December.
- 1998: Plans for freeway lanes reactivated.
- 2000: SH 286/358 interchange plans designed. Some controversy generated when existing SH 286 south ramp to Ayers Street is deleted from proposed interchange.
- 2002: SH 286/358 Interchange reconstruction begins.
The Crosstown Expressway is unusual in that there is limited commercial development along the freeway. The freeway was routed through neighborhoods during initial construction and a good portion of the frontage remains residential.
North
SH 286 (Crosstown Expressway) advances north from SH 358 (S Padre Island Drive) and Gollihar Road to a diamond interchange with Horne Road
07/11/05
The Crosstown Expressway shifts westward, paralleling Port Avenue (old SH 286), ahead of a split diamond interchange for Tarlton Street.
07/11/05
SH 286 resumes a northeasterly heading toward Downtown Corpus Christi and back to back ramps for Baldwin Boulevard and 19th Street.
07/11/05
Baldwin Boulevard is an arterial east from the Crosstown Expressway to Del Mar College and Staples Street and northwest to Central City.
07/11/05
19th Street ties into Morgan Avenue along the west side of the Crosstown Expressway by CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi - Memorial. The next exit is for the couplet of Agnes and Laredo Streets. Agnes Street was formerly a part of SH 44 until the highway was truncated east of SH 358.
07/11/05
SH 286 navigates through an S-curve north from Morgan Avenue to the 16th Street off-ramp for Agnes Street east and Laredo Street west.
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Elevating over what was a Texas Mexican Railroad spur into Downtown Corpus Christi, SH 286 continues to Comanche and Lipan Streets.
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Leopard Street (SS 407) runs one block south of IH 37 from the Corpus Christi Bayfront westward. SH 286 concludes at IH 37 and U.S. 181.
07/11/05
2016-20 construction of the new U.S. 181 Harbor Bridge includes replacing the directional T interchange with IH 37 into a full systems exchange. U.S. 181 will ties into SH 286 from the north, as it joins Corpus Christi with Portland across Nueces Bay.
07/11/05
South
SH 286 (Crosstown Expressway) turns southwesterly from Morgan Avenue through neighborhood areas at Baldwin Boulevard. Baldwin Boulevard connects the freeway with Del Mar College and Central City.
07/11/05
Port Avenue, the former alignment of SH 286, crosses below the Crosstown Expressway from the north and parallels the freeway south to Horne Road and Ayers Street. Tarlton Street intersects Port Avenue nearby at adjacent retail.
07/11/05
Shifting more southward to parallel Port Avenue, SH 286 advances to a diamond interchange with Horne Road.
07/11/05
As constructed in 1970, SH 286 south merged onto SH 358 east, with an exit for Ayers Street (Business 286A). Prior to completion of the cloverstack interchange with South Padre Island Drive, the connection to SH 358 west from SH 286 south required motorists to use the frontage road system from Gollihar Road.
07/11/05
Photo Credits:
- Kevin Trinkle: 07/11/05
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Page Updated Friday July 26, 2019.