The Harbor Bridge Project (or New Harbor Bridge or US 181 Harbor Bridge) is the replacement of the existing through arch bridge that crosses the

Corpus Christi Ship Channel The Corpus Christi Ship Channel is a deep water navigable ship canal located in Corpus Christi, Texas. It is part of the Port of Corpus Christi, managed and controlled by the Corpus Christi Port Authority. The depth of the channel is . It is used ...

, which serves the

Port of Corpus Christi The Port of Corpus Christi is the largest port in the United States in total revenue tonnage, third largest in total waterway tonnage, and is the largest crude oil export gateway in the nation. The Port of Corpus Christi is located on Corpus Christ ...

in Corpus Christi, Texas, with a modern

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

design. The route will connect with SH 286 (the Crosstown Expressway) at its southern terminus and US 181 on the north. Groundbreaking on construction took place on August 8, 2016 and was scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2020, but was extensively delayed due to engineering and design issues, and is tentatively planned to be completed in 2025.

History

Planning for the bridge began in 2003 to address the maintenance and safety issues of the existing

Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge is a through arch bridge located in Corpus Christi, Texas which carries six lanes of U.S. Route 181 (US 181) and Texas State Highway 35 (SH 35) from downtown Corpus Christi to Rincon Point, known to local ...

as well as provide long term access to the Port of Corpus Christi to larger ship vessels (including Panamax). Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) awarded developer

Flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron * Hair iron Places * Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named afte ...

Dragados ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. () is a Spanish company dedicated to civil and engineering construction, all types services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects i ...

with the

design–build Design–build (or design/build, and abbreviated D–B or D/B accordingly) is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a sin ...

contract for the project. The old bridge will be demolished upon project completion.

Design

The new design is a

made up of twin

precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast bea ...

delta frame segmental box girders that spans across the entire ship channel bank-to-bank, providing of clearance above the water. The twin parallel cable-stays are arranged in a fan along middle of the mixed-use deck wide that carry six lanes of US 181 and a bicycle and pedestrian path with a mid-span

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

facing the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. The approaches are of the same box girder type supported by columns apart.

Construction

To assemble the superstructure, box girders cast near the bridge site are lifted and brought into place using a self-propelled gantry crane, and then the tendons are post-tensioned before the crane moves to the next segment and repeats. The structure is slated to be the longest cable-stayed, concrete segmental bridge in the North America. If completed before the

Gordie Howe International Bridge The Gordie Howe International Bridge (french: Pont International Gordie-Howe), known during development as the Detroit River International Crossing and the New International Trade Crossing, is a cable-stayed international bridge across the De ...

, also under construction, it will also briefly have the longest cable-stayed span in the North America. Corpus Christi's nearby

John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway The John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway is a paved highway located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The causeway crosses the Laguna Madre (United States), Laguna Madre and connects North Padre Island with Flour Bluff, Corpus Christi, Texas, Flour Bluff o ...

, which has a similar construction method, is the first precast concrete post-tensioned segmental box girder bridge in the United States.

Construction suspension

In March 2018, a pedestrian bridge collapse in Florida prompted extensive reevaluation of bridge construction across the United States. An

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

investigation ultimately concluded that the chief probable cause for the Florida bridge collapse was an error in design by the FIGG Bridge Group. FIGG was also the engineer for the Harbor Bridge Project. This prompted a design review by TxDOT who in 2019 ultimately asked the bridge developer Flatiron/Dragados to remove FIGG and select a different engineering firm. In July 2020 the developer designated the new engineer for the project as Arup-, who expected no major changes. Construction resumed in August 2021. In July 2022 a TxDOT-ordered independent review by International Bridge Technologies found significant design flaws that persisted in its design, including five primary areas of concern. TxDOT subsequently suspended work on the bridge. The developer Flatiron/Dragados disputes some of these findings, and as of September 2022 discussion were ongoing with TxDOT regarding future construction and potential design remedies.

Work continues

TxDOT and Arup-CFC resolved one of the five design issues, deciding to add additional steel reinforcement to the delta box girders, and work resumed on those sections as of November 3, 2022. Construction of the approach spans has continued despite the halt on the main span and towers, and were over 80% complete as of October 28, 2022. TxDOT and Flatiron/Dragados resolved the four remaining design issues in April 2023.

Notes

References

External links

*
Historical site
{{Corpus Christi Buildings and structures in Corpus Christi, Texas Bridges under construction Bridges in Texas Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Proposed bridges in the United States