CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In the last six months, Department of Public Safety troopers have prevented ten drivers from accessing the Harbor Bridge going the wrong way.
In March, a Wrong-Way Driver Task Force was established to address the fatal accidents on the Harbor Bridge and US-181 caused by these drivers.
KRIS 6 News began investigating these crashes in November 2022, and that investigation revealed at least eight people had died due to wrong-way drivers.
In an exclusive interview with KRIS 6 News in March, Governor Greg Abbott called for action and said current attempts by the Texas Department of Transportation were "inadequate."
This call to action resulted in the permanent closure of two exits and another exit remains temporarily closed. A DPS trooper is stationed at the fourth exit, around the clock.
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New data released Monday by DPS reveals the impact these troopers have had along US-181 and the Harbor Bridge.
"They have been working very hard. In the past 6 months since this initiative was launched, they've made over 15,000 traffic stops," said Harold Mallory, Public Information Officer for DPS, when asked about the work his Troopers have done around the Harbor Bridge.
Since the formation of the task force, troopers have made 134 driving while intoxicated arrests (DWI), 208 narcotics arrests, and written over 5,600 citations. They also stopped ten drivers from entering the Harbor Bridge going the wrong way, most at the Twigg Street exit, which is the only exit that remains open.
The Portland Police Department said they have not encountered any wrong-way drivers since March. That agency has also made 74 DWI arrests.
On the opposite side of the bridge in Corpus Christi, DPS said that of the ten drivers who were stopped trying to enter the bridge the wrong way, eight of those are suspected to have been intoxicated.
DPS said they do not yet know how long it will continue its around-the-clock enforcement, however, they did say they will continue to work with partner agencies to reduce the amount of DWIs as well as wrong-way drivers over the Harbor Bridge.
