CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Assistant City Manager Neiman Young provided an update on fixing the Yorktown Mud Bridge and that there is a three phase approach.
“Behind the scenes, city staff is working very closely and very hard with our contractors and other partner agencies, to make sure we get the mud bridge reopened,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Public Works Director Ernesto De La Garza said phase one, the repairing of the embankments will be finished by the end of next week. The east side is completed, the west side needs to be finished.
Phase two, the repairing of the 22 concrete support columns, will begin on Jan. 16, he said.
“We all understand this has been a terrible inconvenience to the residents in Flour Bluff and the other side of the bridge that uses the corridor as a main thoroughfare,” Young said.
The bridge was closed on Dec. 12 when a sink hole was discovered in front of the bridge.
On Tuesday, city residents noticed how important having a second option is.
As the events of Tuesday’s officer involved shooting happened, although it didn’t take place on the highway bridge, a backup was caused for the better part of two hours.
Motorists trying to cross from Flour Bluff to the mainland of Corpus Christi, were forced to wait in traffic.
De La Garza said the city also sees the importance by prioritizing resources for the mud bridge.
“We have to account for the emergencies and then reprioritize some of our maintenance plans to account for the expense that we incur," he said. "So, that’s just part of business at public works.”
The bridge is now expected to be completed some time in March or early April. So, residents may feel the impact of not having the mud bridge come spring break.
De La Garza said it will take 70 working days to finish the bridge. That is all contingent upon the tide and weather.
He added the repair costs will be $2.7 million and it will come from public works' capital improvement fund. That's funded by the storm water fee, he said.
The city anticipates the Texas Department of Transportation will begin replacing the bridge in 2025, a year sooner that originally scheduled.
Young said the city will continue to provide weekly updates.
For the latest local news updatesclick here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
