CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi's Timbergate Drive is fully reopened after a $4.7 million reconstruction project funded through the voter-approved Bond 2022 program. The project brought new asphalt, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and improved lighting to one of the city's most deteriorated streets.
For more than a year, Daniel Canonge couldn't back his truck out of his own driveway. Construction barrels blocked his path, forcing him to move them himself just to get to work.
"It was definitely inconvenient. The barrels that they put, they put a bunch of them, which I understand is a safety. But a lot of times I couldn't back my truck out, I couldn't back my vehicles out, and I got in the way often. Sometimes I have to go out here, even move them around myself so I can back out," Canonge said.
Canonge has lived on Timbergate Drive for 8 years. He said the old road wasn't just an inconvenience — it was costly.
"We were getting some, our tires and our cars and our suspension, before they did the construction, actually cause a little damage. And now that the streets are smooth, you don't have to worry about that," Canonge said.
The new sidewalks are also making a difference for families who walk the neighborhood.
"The sidewalks are a welcome site. They are wider. We walk our neighborhood, we like to walk around, me and my wife, and that's a lot better," Canonge said.
Neighbor Logan Chew moved to Timbergate Drive while construction was already underway. Now that the project is finished, he says the results speak for themselves.
"Now that we've seen the finished product, I mean, it's amazing. We have a speed bump in front of the house. We've got people that are actually slowing down on Timbergate, and the parking lanes and everything else, all the fresh-painted lines, it looks amazing," Chew said.
Chew and his wife are expecting their first child, and he says the timing of the project's completion couldn't be better.
"It's a good thing for the school zone to be there, and this is an older neighborhood too, with plenty of kids that are running around here, so it makes them a lot safer," Chew said.
For Chew, the investment carries significance beyond smoother pavement.
"It gives me great hope. This is a very wise investment on how things are whenever we spend money on stuff like this. For the area, I mean, it's gonna really improve everything. Property values are gonna go up," Chew said.
But the completion of Timbergate Drive has revealed a new problem. While the road was under construction, drivers avoiding the lane closure began cutting through nearby neighborhood streets and alternate routes like Everhart and Snow Goose. That extra traffic took a toll on roads that were never built to handle it. Where the new asphalt ends, the damage on surrounding side streets begins.
Now that Timbergate is fully reopened, the wear and tear left behind on surrounding streets has created a new challenge for residents in the area. I will follow up with the city to find out what needs to be done to address that problem.
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