CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Drivers had to navigate detours on South Staples Street near South Padre Island Drive on Thursday due to emergency utility repairs Wednesday night. Lane closures, to the frustration of drivers, went from McArdle Road to SPID.
City Manager Peter Zanoni told 3NEWS the emergency repairs resulted from efforts to install a gas pipe in the area.
"There was a directional bore that went through the water line and since last night, though, it has been repaired," Zanoni said.
He said that on Wednesday after 6 p.m., southbound lanes of South Staples Street were closed leading up to SPID. He explained that during a gas pipe installation, horizontal boring went through one of the water lines.
"I asked the team to figure out exactly what happened. They did their initial assessment was that line wasn't on the locate," Zanoni said.
Roadwork also affected those trying to get around the area.
Lupe Garcia drove to Firestone Complete Auto Care at South Staples Street and McArdle Road to get his car's tires worked on. He said he had to take a detour to get there, which added about 10-15 minutes to his drive.
"I'm going to go through the mall, go back ways, you know," Garcia said. "Not, I'm totally avoiding Staples. At least this portion of Staples, cause it's just a headache."
Garcia, a longtime resident of Corpus Christi, said road detours are nothing new to him here. He said he tries to remember where street projects are happening so he can avoid them.
"It's becoming, kind of like a routine now, you know, having to plan ahead and plan my route and plan my detours wherever I'm going to go," he said.
The city announced earlier on Thursday that work causing lane closures was expected to be completed by the evening.
Garcia said it helps to know that at some point the road will be open again.
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