CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Construction on North Beach has made navigating the area stressful to everyone, but city leaders and local businesses expressed concern that it has also affected some of Corpus Christi’s most popular tourist attractions.
North Beach is known as the home of the USS Lexington and Texas State Aquarium, but many tourists struggle to find a way to get to them.
According to City Councilman Billy Lerma, around 800,000 people visit North Beach tourist spots per year. However, getting to the area has become a complicated matter for visitors with the new Harbor Bridge project’s ongoing construction and detours.
"People get lost, and get confused, and get upset, and they just keep going instead of stopping,” Lerma said.
A simple solution that was put forth was the addition of more signage to intersections that would help navigate drivers back to main highways, a measure that would especially help out-of-towners.
Pier 99 Manager Joey Garza is a witness to the discouraging effect that the lack of straightforward direction in North Beach has on visitors.
While his business maintains strong customer support throughout the spring and summer seasons, Garza reported a dip in turnout over the past year that directly correlates to the increasing amount of construction in North Beach.
He even said customers have voiced concern over the lack of signage and personally requested directions from his staff.
Regardless, Lerma and Garza remain optimistic about the city’s growth.
"It'll be over soon, you know. We're all just kind of trucking through the construction and it'll be worth it." Garza said.