Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge

Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge
The Harbor Bridge crossing into Corpus Christi.
Coordinates	27°48′46″N 97°23′43″W / 27.812857°N 97.39527°W / 27.812857; -97.39527Coordinates: 27°48′46″N 97°23′43″W / 27.812857°N 97.39527°W / 27.812857; -97.39527
Carries	6 lanes of US 181 and   SH 35
Crosses	Port of Corpus Christi
Locale	Corpus Christi, Texas
Official name	Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Through arch bridge
Height	243 ft
Longest span	620 ft.
Clearance below	138 ft
History
Opened	1959
Statistics
Toll	none

The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge is a through arch bridge located in Corpus Christi, Texas which carries 6-lanes of US 181 from downtown Corpus Christi to Rincon Point, known to locals as North Beach. The harbor bridge crosses the Corpus Christi Ship Channel which serves the Port of Corpus Christi, one of the US's busiest seaports and handles nearly 26,000 vehicles daily. A new bridge is currently under construction that would allow larger ships to pass beneath.

Prior to modern depth of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel the channel was nothing more than a muddy slough. Around the mid-1800s a wooden bridge was built over the slough then called Hall's Bayou. In 1920 the "Rivers and Harbor Act" authorized dregding a channel 25 feet deep, 200 feet wide from Aransas Pass jetties to Corpus Christi. Dredging was complete and the port was opened in 1926. The bridge stood 121 feet long 52 feet wide and one end that could be raised 140 plus feet and was built by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Co. The bridge that was painted black and covered in grease to protect from corrosion amazed many residents of the city learning that it needed little electrical power to raise and lower it. The operations of the bridge were complex, consisteting of whistles between ship and bridge operators. When the bridge had to be raised it caused frustration for those who had to cross the bridge, as it was raised well before ships came close and had to stay raised for up to 20 minutes or more sometimes up to 30 times a day.

A new LED lighting system was unveiled to the public on December 4, 2011, at a public lighting ceremony held at Whataburger Field. The $2.2 million project was a joint venture between the City of Corpus Christi, the Port of Corpus Christi, the Texas Department of Transportation, and American Bank. The lighting system comprises more than 950 Philips Color Kinetics fixtures, and has over 11,000 individually addressable RGB nodes.

In 2013 two men died in separate incidents after jumping off the bridge.