CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Changes are coming to two southbound exit ramps on the Harbor Bridge in an effort to deter wrong-way drivers according to a statement issued by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
According to that release, reconfiguration of the exits at Twigg and Mesquite streets will begin Tuesday. New traffic patterns are expected to be in place by 6 a.m. Wednesday.
As KRIS 6 News has previously reported over months of reporting, eight people died over a seven-year period on the Harbor Bridge and US 181 as the result of wrong-way drivers entering the bridge via exit ramps.
Safety enhancements planned for these exits include "the installation of water-filled barriers that will convert southbound Mesquite to a single lane at the intersection and require motorists exiting on Twigg to only turn right onto Mesquite. The barriers also will obstruct wrong-way drivers on Twigg from entering the exit ramp. Southbound two-lane traffic on Mesquite will resume south of the intersection."
Enhancements will also include a series of message boards, rumble strips and pavement markings will advise motorists to slow down and prepare to make the right turn from the Twigg exit to Mesquite. Motorists are advised to slow to 15 mph on the ramp and to 5 mph to navigate the right turn.
During the intersection conversion, US 181 southbound traffic on the Harbor Bridge may detour to I-37 westbound, take the Nueces Bay Boulevard exit, use the turnaround and return to I-37 eastbound to access downtown and the SEA District. Also, one block of Mesquite will be closed north of Twigg and motorists may detour to Mann Street.
