CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With TXDOT announcing its upcoming ramp reversal project on SPID between Staples Street and Nile Drive, some local businesses in the affected area shared their thoughts on the project and how it might affect their business.
The announcement didn’t come as a surprise.
“It’s been many years ago when they first started talking about doing the changing back when they started doing them on Weber, then Everhart. They were talking about doing it all the way to Nile,” B&J’s Pizza owner Chris Baker said.
KRIS 6 News spoke to three businesses that are part of Habeeb Plaza off Nile and SPID: La Mexicana Bakery, Victoria’s Jewels and B&J’s Pizza.
“These are all family-owned mom and pop shops up and down here,” Baker said.
Nile Drive is just one of the areas that TXDOT crews will be working on as their new phase of their ramp reversal project on SPID.
TXDOT said the purpose of the project is to move traffic off the freeway that’s waiting at those intersections between Staples and Nile. They want to make sure traffic doesn’t back up into the main lanes.
It will also give traffic on those frontage roads more time to merge, making it safer and easier for drivers traveling through those areas.
Arturo Rodriguez with La Mexicana Bakery said the construction that will take place infant of their business might send potential customers away.
“Some of them will find their way. Some of them will wait til its over,” Rodriguez said.
He said a lot of their customers are familiar faces and will come in rain or shine. He just hopes they are also able to come in through orange traffic cones.
“It will pass, it will move on, it will eventually end, it’s just a rough patch,” Rodriguez said.
Just a few steps down, Fred Mitchell with Victoria’s Jewels also spoke on the project. Mitchell and his wife own the business and have been around for almost 50 years.
“We have mixed feelings about this construction. We understand that they will keep access available to us during construction but still customers get reluctant to drive through construction to drive to get to their favorite stores,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said he knows the ramp reversal needs to be done and hopes customers continue to show up to all the businesses in their plaza.
Baker has also been around since 1987 and said he doesn’t see the need for the ramp reversal around the Nile area, but understands it more in other locations.
“There’s really not enough business that causes traffic between Airline and Nile for them in my point of view to mess with the on and off ramps. They’ve been working fine for as long as I’ve lived here. I know traffic is bad but it’s bad by Moore Plaza, the mall, places like that. This part forward, there’s no new construction going on so I fail to see the reasoning,” Baker said.
Baker also added that there is only one way in and out of their plaza. He said the construction will also interfere with parking.
“They’re looking at having to take 10 to 15 of our parking spaces with an extra lane coming through. And our parking lot is terribly small as it is,” Baker said.
While Baker was and is against the project in that specific area, others are hoping the cost comes with a reward.
“After it’s over we are looking forward to having better access. People will be able to get off easier and get to us,” Mitchell said.
But the message all three businesses have for customers is the exact same, no matter how it’s said.
“We’re all family and friends and have been for a very long time. We hope they will find it in their hearts to still come and see us despite construction going on. We hope the community continues to support us during that time,” Baker said.
Construction started on Monday and TXDOT said it should be completed by 2029.
TXDOT does not plan on closing any travel lanes long term. Lane closures on the main lanes will also be done at night on 359 to reduce the affect of traffic during the project timeline.
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