CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas Department of Road crews are working to open roads along the Coastal Curve as quickly as possible. Rickey Dailey, the public information officer for TxDOT, said that most of the main corridors in Corpus Christi remain closed due to icy conditions.
Teams are working and evaluating the JFK Causeway and Harbor Bridge, but Dailey does not expect them to open on Monday. The crews are spreading defrosting agents on the Nueces River bridge, on I-37 in Labonte Park and on US-77, from Refugio to Kingsville. US-77 currently remains open, but it is a mix of main roads and border roads.
TxDOT teams are spreading a de-icing agent mixed with ice rock on the roads. The defrosting agent helps to break the connection between the ice and the road, while the ice rock helps in traction.
First, Dailey said that TxDOT teams need to ensure that road conditions are safe enough that they can travel before starting to work on them to open to the public.
“First, we need to assess road conditions to see if it’s safe for our teams to get there. At different points of the night, he simply dominated us and we had to withdraw our teams. Our dump trucks that had the defrosting agent were slipping and that is not safe, ”he said.
Dailey said it is unclear when the main roads in the area will reopen, and that depends on weather conditions. However, he said that as temperatures rise, the ice melts, but as they fall again, it will freeze again and turn to black ice, which is dangerous.
“People can see a puddle on the road and think ‘hey, it’s only wet’, when it’s really frozen. This is a very dangerous condition and that is why we are still asking people to stay at home and not drive today, ”he said.
Outside of Corpus Christi, road conditions are similar. Sheriffs in Aransas, Bee, Duval, Kenedy, Kleberg, Refugio and San Patricio counties report varying degrees of icy roads. Live Oak, Refugio and San Patricio counties reported accidents that the sheriffs were working on.
In Aransas County, there were not many calls to the sheriff’s office about accidents, but Sheriff Bill Mills still urged caution to area drivers.
“Depending on where you are, you see more of it visible, it’s pretty consistent everywhere. It’s about to be tight enough that if you’re traveling through it, as you approach intersections, get ready to stop, if you’re traveling for much more than 20 [miles per hour] you will slide through some intersections. We are asking everyone to use their common sense and, if they don’t have to leave, don’t leave, ”he said.
Aransas County Sheriff’s Office
The Dale Miller bridge at Aransas Pass remains open on Monday afternoon, as is the ferry from Port Aransas. Sheriff Mills said the passage to Lamar remains cold but passable, and they are trying to prevent the bridge from closing so as not to isolate people in the north.
Sheriff Mills reported power outages across the area and said there are open shelters in the county; at local firefighters and even some churches in Fulton, and said his teams transported people to shelters who were unable to stay in their homes due to the cold.
Dailey wants people to know that TxDOT is working hard to make the roads in the area open and safe for travel as quickly as possible.
“The public needs to know that it is still a challenge to open these roads, even after the ice and rain have stopped falling and freezing. We will make our best efforts and continue to do our best. We are working 24 hours, we are working 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, ”he said.
Bee County Sheriff’s Office
Both Dailey and Sheriff Mills want people to stay off the road, unless absolutely necessary, as long as conditions remain as they are.
“Please stay at home, don’t drive unless it’s absolutely necessary. Driving conditions are difficult and we want everyone to be safe, ”said Dailey.
“We are not used to driving in these conditions. There is a saying that I have been using for a long time: either you are part of the solution or part of the problem. If you don’t need to leave, you’ll venture into part of the problem area. We would like to ask everyone to stay where they are for as long as they can, ”said Sheriff Mills.
For the most up-to-date information on road and closure conditions, check the TxDOT road condition map. TxDOT also has traffic cameras available to view road conditions, although some may not be operational due to cold weather.