CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
Corpus Christi's Holly Road Trestle Train to Tourism Trail project is a go after the city was awarded $13 million from the Texas Department of Transportation.
That money will fund a pedestrian bridge that will connect Flour Bluff to Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve.
That funding is part of the $345 million that the TxDOT granted 83 different projects. That funding comes from the department's Transportation Alternative Grant Program.
City Councilmember At-Large Jim Klein said the pedestrian bridge will do great things for the city.
"We think its going to be a great idea to help connect Flour Bluff to the rest of Corpus Christi," Klein said. "It helps to kind of reinforce the idea of multiple modes of transportation as well."
Klein is also the president of the the Sierra Club Coastal Bend Group environmental organization.
He said this pedestrian bridge won't only diversify the types of travel in the city, but also positively affect the environment.
"Once completed, people are going to be able to use it and travel from point A to point B," he said. "It's going to help reduce congestion on the streets and roads. It'll help to reduce air emissions from automobiles as well."
Corpus Christi Dist. 4 Councilman Dan Suckley said this bridge will be just one more opportunity to draw tourists in to experience the city's natural resources.
"I think it's a great opportunity to expand on our already-growing tourist industry," he said. "Coming across Flour Bluff, I mean there's certainly birding opportunities. Then also coming across the body of water, there's some good fishing in that Oso at certain times of the year as well."
Suckley said getting $13 million from the state is huge for the city. Without it, there would have most likely been a need for the city to come up with a significant amount of matching funds.
"Since we were so fortunate to get the full $13 million, there is no identified need for the city to provide any additional funding," he said. "It looks like it'll be 100 percent funded by this state grant."
Corpus Christi isn't the only city in the area that received funding from the TxDot's Transportation Alternative Grant Program.
Jim Wells County, Kingsville, and Three Rivers received a combined amount of more than $4 million for projects in their areas. Those projects include adding sidewalks, signage, safety lighting and ADA ramps