CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The traffic standstill caused by Tuesday's a shooting involving Nueces County Sheriff's Office deputies put a spotlight on Flour Bluff residents' concerns about access to and from The Bluff and Padre Island following the collapse of the Yorktown mud bridge.
Tuesday's incident delayed traffic and Flour Bluff ISD bus routes onto and off of Flour Bluff until about 6:05 p.m.
Flour Bluff's YAPP 361 Dance Studio co-owner Caitlin Reagan said two routes are needed in case of an emergency.
"The mud bridge is closed, and with something as serious as what happened yesterday, as a parent -- we have a little one, too -- as a parent, I am concerned not being able to get to my child with something like that happening in the area," she said.
City officials confirmed with 3NEWS that the first phase of repair work on the mud bridge is nearing its end, with work on shoring up the embankments that support the bridge expected to be finished by the end of this week.
Assistant Corpus Christi City Manager Neiman Young also said that construction crews will begin repairing the bridge's corroded pilings starting next week.
A full replacement of the bridge is set for 2025 rather than its original plan to be replaced in 2026. However, in the meantime residents will be without an alternate route other than SPID.
Young said he understands the area is frustrated with losing access, however temporarily, to the mud bridge.
"It puts us in the same position in The Bluff that The Island has been dealing with for years," he said.
According to Young, the $2.5 million repairs to the mud bridge will take 70 working days before it can be reopened to the public, and that's only if weather conditions permit.
"We all understand this is a terrible inconvenience to the residents of Flour Bluff and those who utilize this corridor, but please note, behind the scenes, city staff is working hard to get the bridge reopened," he said.
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