A curb near the Commodores Bridge construction on Padre Island is creating accessibility challenges for residents who use wheelchairs. The curb, which stands as tall as an iPhone, is preventing some neighbors from safely navigating the area. Jason Lyons, a Padre Island resident who uses an electric wheelchair, cannot access the newly installed sidewalk due to the lack of a proper ramp.
"I can tell that there is no curb-cut on the sidewalk that just got installed. Henceforth, I can't use it, because I can't get onto the sidewalk. There's no ramp leading up to the sidewalk," Lyons said.
Lyons commutes about a mile and a half to visit his mother's business, Cabana Pantry, daily—a journey he describes as "the road of death" due to safety concerns.
The Commodores Drive Bridge Project has been under construction since early 2024, and drivers in that area have been using a bypass road to get around the construction. As of Tuesday, July 8, westbound traffic on Commodores Drive was able to start going over the newly constructed bridge. Construction will still continue on the eastbound side of the bridge. The City of Corpus Christi says the newly opened lanes are still subject to periodic closures.
"I've been using the detour. I've just been using the lane itself and everybody can either wait, or drive around me," Lyons said.
Neighborhood News Reporter Erin Holly accompanied Lyons on his route to witness the challenges firsthand. Despite one side of the new Commodores Bridge opening to westbound traffic Tuesday, Lyons still cannot access the sidewalks with his wheelchair and must continue using the detour bypass road.
"If there was a curb cut, I wouldn't have to do the detour that we just did," Lyons said.
The detour adds approximately five minutes to his commute, extending his time in what he considers dangerous traffic conditions.
"I don't want to use the road in high speed, high volume traffic," Lyons said.
When contacted about the issue, Corpus Christi City Councilwoman for district 4 Kaylynn Paxson, explained that the project is still in progress.
"The sidewalks are still in progress. The ramps haven't gone in at the appropriate ADA locations just yet," Paxson said.
According to Paxson who confirmed with a Corpus Christi city engineer, ADA-compliant ramps will be installed around the Commodores Bridge project sidewalks in the coming weeks.
Lyons remains hopeful for a quick resolution. "I hope that's installed at some point soon," he said. "Because I don’t want to put myself in any more danger than I have to.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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