Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge

Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge
The Harbor Bridge crossing into Corpus Christi
Coordinates	27°48′46″N 97°23′43″W
Carries	6 lanes of US 181 / SH 35
Crosses	Port of Corpus Christi
Locale	Corpus Christi, Texas
Official name	Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Through arch bridge
Total length	5,818 ft (1,773 m)
Height	243 ft (74 m)
Longest span	620 ft (190 m)
Clearance below	138 ft (42 m)
History
Opened	1959
Statistics
Toll	none
Location

The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge is a through arch bridge in Corpus Christi, Texas, that carries six lanes of U.S. Route 181 (US 181) and Texas State Highway 35 (SH 35) from downtown Corpus Christi to Rincon Point, known to locals as North Beach. The bridge crosses the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and handles nearly 26,000 vehicles daily. A new bridge called the New Harbor Bridge is under construction. When complete, it will allow larger ships to pass beneath, permit safer pedestrian transit, and reconfigure the highway interchange system in the surrounding community.

New Harbor Bridge Project

Main article: Harbor Bridge Project

The new Harbor Bridge under construction in 2019

In 2008, local, state, and federal authorities began the replacement process. The new Harbor Bridge will be a cable-stayed suspension bridge with a 1661-foot span, rising to a height of 538 feet at the peak of each support pylon. The bridge will allow passage of ships up to 205 feet above-waterline height. The concrete construction technique used for bridge segments have a 170-year estimated life. Construction was originally slated to finish in 2020. On October 15, 2019, it was announced that the Harbor Bridge would not be completed until 2023.

On November 15, 2019, design activities on the new Harbor Bridge were suspended by the Texas Department of Transportation. In a statement, the Texas Department of Transportation says it asked Flatiron Dragados, the firm building the bridge, to suspend the design activities until a replacement for FIGG Bridge Engineers Inc. was found, after the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University; which was designed by that company, collapsed on March 15, 2018, while it was under construction at the time of collapse.

In July 2020, Arup and Carlos Fernandez Casado S.L. was hired to review, recertify, and complete the main span of the bridge. In August 2022, TxDOT halted construction after deficiencies were found within the superstructure of the new bridge. Construction resumed in December 2022 once these problems were resolved.