The view of the new Harbor Bridge from Whataburger Field according to an architect’s rendering. Courtesy Photo
Flatiron Constructors Inc. and Dragados USA Inc. will design and build the new Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi. The decision was made at the Texas Transportation Commission’s meeting in Austin Thursday, April 30. The $854.6 million project will begin this year with an estimated completion in 2020.
“I can’t tell you what a historical day this is for the Coastal Bend,” said Mayor Nelda Martinez as she addressed the commission’s morning meeting. “You [TxDot] will not only be put on the national map with this epic bridge, but on the global map.”
Expected to last at least 100 years,the new bridge will be the third largest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Its 205-foot vertical clearance will allow bigger ships — including cruise ships — into the harbor. The current Harbor Bridge, which was completed in 1959 has a vertical clearance of 138 feet. As for vehicle traffic on the bridge, six lanes will stretch above the 400-foot-wide ship channel.
Commissioners chose Flatiron/Dragados from four bids submitted late last year. Dragados USA, which is based out of Germany, has constructed more than 1,000 bridges around the world, many of them the cable-stay type planned for the Harbor Bridge. Flatiron, of Denver, Colo., helped build the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge that spans the Cooper River in Charleston, S.C.
