CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Plans to build a water exchange bridge on SPID on Padre Island have stalled.
Work was supposed to be underway on the canal leading to the bridge, but that has not happened yet.
If the Water Exchange Bridge project was a person, it would be old enough to drive by now. Voters approved funding way in 2004, and the construction contract was awarded months ago.
Across the roadway, on Lake Padre, the canal and bulkheads connecting to the bridge have been in place for years in anticipation of the bridge's construction.
The private landowners say the city lacks a construction permit for the bridge. City officials say that's not true, and they have already signed a contract committing the city to build the bridge. Part of the problem is these bar ditches along the roadway have been declared wetlands and must be remediated. That has not happened.
In the meantime, what is supposed to be a construction site is a sticker patch. The Corps of Engineers permit currently requires water to be flowing under SPID by the end of this year. With each passing day that looks less and less likely.
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