Coastal Bend Road Conditions Update

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Teams from the Texas Highways Department are working to open the roads in the Coastal Curve as quickly as possible. Rickey Dailey, public information manager at TxDOT, said most major corridors in Corpus Christi remain closed due to freezing conditions.

Crews are working and assessing the JFK Causeway and the Harbor Bridge, but Dailey doesn’t expect those to be open on Monday. Crews spray de-icers on the Nueces River Bridge, on I-37 in Labonte Park, and on US-77 from Refugio to Kingsville. US-77 currently remains open, but it’s a mix of main and front roads.

The TxDOT teams spread a de-icing agent mixed with ice on the roads. The deicing agent helps break the bond between the ice and the road, while the ice rock helps with traction.

First and foremost, Dailey said TxDOT teams need to make sure road conditions are safe enough for crews to travel before they can start working on them to open them up to the public.

“We first need to assess the road conditions, to see if it is safe for our crews to get there. At different times of the night it just got over us and we had to withdraw our crews. Our dump trucks with the de-icing agent were slipping and it’s not safe, ”he said.

Dailey said it was not clear when major roads in the area would reopen and that depended on weather conditions. However, he said as temperatures warm, the ice will melt, but as it falls again it will refreeze and turn into black ice, which is dangerous.

“People can see a puddle of water in the road and think, ‘hey, it’s just wet,’ when it’s really frozen. It’s a very dangerous condition, and that’s why we always ask people to stay home and not drive today, ”he said.

Road conditions outside of Corpus Christi are similar. Sheriffs in Aransas, Bee, Duval, Kenedy, Kleberg, Refugio and San Patricio counties all report varying degrees of icy roads. Live Oak, Refugio, and San Patricio counties all had accident reports that sheriffs were working on.

In Aransas County, there haven’t been many accident calls to the sheriff’s office, but Sheriff Bill Mills has always urged area drivers to be cautious.

“Depending on where you are at, you see it more visible, it’s pretty much consistent everywhere. It’s at the point where it’s tight enough where if you cross it, approaching intersections, be prepared to stop, if you are traveling a lot over 20. [miles per hour] you will slide through some intersections. We ask everyone to use their best judgment, and if they don’t need to go out, please don’t go out, ”he said.

Aransas County Sheriff’s Office

The Dale Miller Bridge at Aransas Pass remains open Monday afternoon, as does the Port Aransas ferry. Sheriff Mills said the roadway leading to Lamar remains icy, but passable, and that they are trying to delay closing the roadway, not to isolate northerners.

Sheriff Mills reported power outages across the region and said there were shelters open in the county; at local fire stations and even some churches in Fulton, and said his crews had transported people to these shelters who were unable to stay in their homes due to the cold.

Dailey wants people to know that TxDOT is working hard to keep roads in the area open and safe for travel as quickly as possible.

“The public should know that it is still difficult to open these roads, even after the ice and rain have stopped falling and freezing. We will do our best and we will continue to do our best. We work 24 hours a day, we work in 12 hour shifts, 24 hours a day, ”he said.

Bee County Sheriff’s Office

Dailey and Sheriff Mills want people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary as long as conditions stay the same.

“Please stay home, do not drive unless you have to. These are tough driving conditions and we want everyone to be safe, ”said Dailey.

“We are not used to driving in these conditions. There is an adage that I have used for a long time: either you are part of the solution or you are part of the problem. If you don’t need to get out, you are venturing into part of the problem area. We ask everyone to stay where they are for as long as they can hold out, ”Sheriff Mills said.

For the most up-to-date information on road conditions and closures, see the TxDOT Road Conditions Map. TxDOT also has traffic cameras available to view road conditions, although some may not be operational due to cold weather.