CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Councilmember of District 5 Gil Hernandez said the Rodd Field expansionwas necessary before starting the widening project of Yorktown Boulevard.
"We're going to be widening the road from a two lane highway right now to four lanes with a center median that goes all the way from Rodd Field to the bridge that crosses over into Flour Bluff," Hernandez said.
The more than $22 million project will be funded with bonds from 2020 and 2022. The hope is to allow safe access through the area for residents and to improve potholes and street drainage.
"Any new street is going to address those. And they're going to be made to a higher standard. It's going to be a full A1 arterial. [And] the drainage will be underneath the street where it goes all the way out to Oso Bay," Hernandez said.
Hernandez explained how the street will be built while keeping traffic moving.
"Basically what's going to happen is the existing road they're going to keep that open," Hernandez said. "And they're going to built a parallel road to the north of it, build that and construct that out, open that up, close the other side and then build the other side. So you're still going to have a two-lane road for the foreseeable future."
CCISD is also currently building a new elementary school and middle school along the same stretch of Yorktown Boulevard. KRIS 6 News asked Hernandez what the plan is to ease construction traffic once the schools are completed.
"What I've asked them to address since that elementary school is going to be open is to have some temporary traffic lights at that intersection so we can have some control over people coming in and out. Eventually that's going to be a permanent intersection as well at Fred's Folly," Hernandez said.
The project is expected to wrap up in 2 years once construction begins. Some in the community were excited about the new change coming soon.
"I noticed that a lot of growth is happening kind of on this side, kind of like a wave. And so we're very very excited and we believe that we will increase as well due to that capacity increase of people moving on this side of town," Oso Creek Church Pastor Greg Isaacs said.
Hernandez said city council will first look at the contract sometime in June. If everything is approved and signed during that time construction could begin as early as August of 2024.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
