CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott spoke at at luncheon hosted by the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce Monday where he not only laid out some of his legislative priorities, but also hit on several themes that are timely and of interest for our community.
Abbott began by reminding the crowd gathered at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center that the Nueces county region is an important part of what he calls the "Texas economic juggernaut."
Plans on bringing Tesla to Nueces County
Abbott calls it a "dreamland" for entrepreneurs who want to come here and succeed, including for Tesla, which plans to build a $375 million lithium refinery in the western part of Nueces county.
Business such as this only confirms the recent numbers that show Texas has the fastest-growing economy in the nation.
Abbott even recalled to when a Steel Dynamics plant opened in Sinton and the impact that had on Corpus Christi as a whole.
In this case, the lithium battery plant will benefit all of Texas.
"Facilities like this lithium refinery is a core component to our state strategy for the state of Texas to be more self reliant," he said.
Abbott pointed out the need for lithium and how rising tensions with China, where most lithium comes from, may cause a problem with the way we function if that source was ever cut off.
"That's why part of our strategy is for the state of Texas to be involved in producing more lithium, refining more lithium so that we will be the source point of the lithium that we need, and that our businesses need to keep Texas flourishing," he said.
Talks of securing Harbor Bridge against wrong-way drivers
Abbott also talked about some of the other top issues we're facing, such as securing the current Harbor Bridge from wrong-way drivers.
"The Texas Department of Transportation has worked with Corpus Christi, as well as others in this region, to permanently close the Power Street and Padre Street exits," he said. "They’re going to make improvements, including returning Padre Street to two-way traffic, and this work is scheduled to be completed later this month.”
Abbott also spoke about some of the delays in getting the new Harbor Bridge built. He said they're necessary in order to ensure that the design was safe, but now, everything should be moving at a much quicker pace.
"The developer is maximizing labor efforts with multiple shifts -- both during the day and at night -- to get that bridge built as quickly as possible," he said.
Abbott says he fully backs second causeway to Padre Island
Abbott also touched on a plan that involves building a second causeway to Padre Island.
In February, a bill was filed in Texas House of Representatives calling for the second bridge.
In March, State Representative Todd Hunter said TxDOT has agreed to put the second causeway into both the department's long range transportation plan and its freight mobility plan.
Abbott said he backs the second causeway.
"The environmental study was supposed to begin in 2035, I told TxDOT I want them to begin now, and that's exactly what they are doing. That's was about a 12 year acceleration in the process," he said.
When built, the structure is expected to be in either Nueces County or Kleberg County. It would also be part of the states highway system.
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