CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The right two lanes of Hwy. 361 are closed at the intersection of Park Road 22, forcing significant delays getting into Corpus Christi from Mustang Island and Port Aransas on Tuesday morning.
Drivers stuck on Hwy. 361 said the traffic was so backed up that commuters were driving against traffic on the opposite side of the highway to try and escape the bottleneck, turning into a newly created driveway that curves around and lets them out on the south side of Park Road 22.
The congestion are being caused by work to refresh the poles that create a dedicated right turn lane from Hwy. 361 onto Park Road 22, said Texas Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Rickey Dailey.
The work is expected to be finished Wednesday night, he said, and the intersection is expected to be flowing normally Thursday morning if there are no construction delays.
He said the roadwork is being done at the city of Corpus Christi's request.
The city of Corpus Christi announced in a news release Friday that roadwork would be taking place in the area, but not at that intersection.
The roadwork that was announced is being done on the Park Road 22 access road in front of businesses such as Whataburger and Padre Pizzeria.
More crews are working on the bridge and channel farther south of the Park Road 22/Hwy. 361 intersection, also reducing that side of Park Road 22 to one lane, further complicating traffic flow.
Traffic patterns will ultimately stay the same once the work at the intersection is done, Dailey said. Work is only being done to fix the broken and damaged poles.
Drivers needing to get into Corpus Christi from those areas should consider using the ferry in Port Aransas.
This is a developing story. Check back with 3NEWS for updates.
