CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It has been two weeks since work came to a stop on parts of the new Harbor Bridge Project.
The delay comes after the Texas Department of Transportation raised safety concerns regarding the project.
On July 15, TxDOT said it was concerned with "certain elements" of the bridge's main span, which is the portion over the water. TxDOT completely stopped construction on that part of the bridge.
Over the past two weeks, many South Texas leaders have raised questions and asked for clarity. The growing list includes one of the economic leaders in our region, the Port of Corpus Christi.
Currently, the Port is ranked as the largest U.S. port in total revenue tonnage and it's the nation's leading energy export gateway.
3NEWS spoke with Omar Garcia, Chief of External Affairs for the Port.
"We would like some certainty, so that we can tell the companies who are looking at this region to make large investments, when that bridge will be ready," Garcia said. "It keeps being delayed and it does cause problems for this region. Having that certainty will secure thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment."
Garcia told 3NEWS that the bridge continues to be a big topic, not only at the regional level, but also nationally and internationally. He said that while the Port is enjoying another record year, much of that is due to world oil exports tied to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Additionally, bridge delays could begin to affect their ability to attract new business and new opportunities for the Coastal Bend.
"It certainly becomes a topic of conversation every time that we have a prospect come visit the Port. They see the construction, they see that it's not completed, and they want to know, 'When can we expect that bridge to be finalized?'"
The developer FlatIron Dragados has still not commented. 3NEWS has contacted them nearly a dozen times about the status of the Harbor Bridge Project.
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