TEXAS, USA — Plans are underway to create a second causeway that would connect the Texas mainland to South Padre Island.
The project comes more than 20 years after the deadly collapse of the Queen Isabella Causeway, which killed eight people and destroyed an 85-foot section of the bridge. Because the Queen Isabella Causeway is the only bridge that connects travelers and commuters to South Padre, island residents were stuck until it was repaired some two months later.
“As a result of that, the people that lived on South Padre Island were basically cut off from the mainland because they could no longer cross over,” said Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. “The State of Texas Department of Transportation did an unbelievable job to repair the causeway. But for those two months, the island was separated from the mainland.”
Trevino said there had already been talks of adding a second causeway prior to that incident, and the area has historically demonstrated a need for a second causeway. To help make that happen, Trevino says, Cameron County, South Padre Island and the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority are each committing a million dollars to fund the design plan.
A total of $500 million to $600 million will likely be needed for the project once all is said and done.
“We didn't want to wait to have the funding in place with TxDOT and this showed our commitment to the state, that we were willing to put skin in the game and get this project shovel-ready,” Trevino said.
In terms of a timeline, Trevino said it could be another four to six years before the causeway is complete, should the money be secured and the process move forward.
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