CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi is making strides in its Rapid Pavement Program, completing the 2024 list for residential streets ahead of schedule.
However, for those who are still seeing a lot of construction happening, Corpus Christi Public Works Director Ernie De La Garza said that not all streets are created equal.
"The main part of the Rapid Pavement Program is that we're only repairing the pavement only, from the right edge of pavement line to the left end of pavement line," he said.
De La Garza said that for streets that fall under bond projects, the rules for repair are a little different.
"Tearing into the road and you're having long closures for long periods of time," he said. "Maybe the road is closed on one side for six months or a year at a time, that's a bond project."
Car-savvy Corpus Christi resident James Kruth lives along McGregor Drive. He said that he knows firsthand what potholes can do to your car.
"Potholes are not good for the tire rods and ball joints on your car," he said. "If you hit some of those, you're putting wear and tear on those parts."
De La Garza said that his department completed the 37 miles of road planned for 2024. Since they finished residential streets ahead of schedule, there is time to look ahead toward the future.
"With the new PCI scores, Pavement Condition Index scores, we're going to use that data to start adding new roads to the list that are not part of the plan," he said.
However for residents like Kruth, he said he just wants to see and feel change when he gets behind the wheel of his car.
"You got to take it out, and you got to start fresh," he said.