It’s no secret that Corpus Christi residents want streets and roads without potholes, upgraded sidewalks and infrastructure that improves safety and connects neighborhoods.
The city is attempting to address this challenge through initiatives such as the Rapid Pavement Program and the Vision Zero public safety awareness campaign that the City Council adopted in 2020 that aims to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2040.
Now, the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization is asking for people to provide input on which street and road projects should be prioritized to receive a portion of about $1 billion in total state and federal funding over the next 25 years.
The organization kicked off the development of the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan during the week of Oct. 20 with two public input sessions and a presentation of the plan to the Nueces County Commissioners Court on Oct. 22.
Final approval of the plan is 15 to 16 months away, said Robert MacDonald, director of the Corpus Christi MPO. The public can give input on projects now until the final approval.
Proposed road construction projects
Proposed projects in the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan include:
$104.5 million for improvements to Highway 361 at the Highway 35 interchange (elevated four-lane signalized intersection, grade separations over two railroad crossings, connectors to Highway 35, entrance and exit ramps)
$46.77 million for construction of two additional travel lanes on Farm-to-Market Road 624 from County Road 73 to Wildcat Drive (upgrade existing four-lane rural road to urban six-lane boulevard with raised median and bicycle and pedestrian improvements)
$17.59 million for construction of 15-foot-wide shared-use path and new pedestrian bridge across Oso Bay (renovate existing train trestle bridge and connect Holly Road and Flour Bluff Drive shared-use paths)
$1.99 million for construction of pedestrian and bike facilities on various streets from Cole High School to H.J. Williams Park (Harbor Bridge hike-and-bike connectivity)
People will also be able to comment on proposed projects in the 2025-2028 Transportation Improvement Program, including Northwest Boulevard, Gregory interchange and Park Road 22 projects, to which state and federal funding will be allocated, MacDonald said. Read more about that program here.
The MPO will pass those comments on to project sponsors — primarily the Texas Department of Transportation, though the city of Corpus Christi also sponsors projects at the local level — and TxDOT will hold separate meetings to inform the public on the details of how they developed, he said.
Plans to improve traffic safety
MacDonald said that traffic safety is a critical topic that will be examined during the 2050 MTP development.
According to TxDOT data, there were 7,238 total crashes in Corpus Christi in 2024 that resulted in 127 suspected serious injuries and 43 deaths.
“We have approximately 40 to 45 fatalities per year in our region,” MacDonald said.
TxDOT data shows that the time of day and day of the week that crashes and accidents happen is critical, with most fatal crashes happening early in the morning and late at night on weekends.
Many vehicular crashes — a total of 766 — happened at 136 Corpus Christi intersections between April 2024 and April 2025, according to a recent Caller-Times article.
The city ranked low on mobility for bicyclists — 181 out of 200 Texas cities — due to lack of availability of low-stress areas for bicycling, according to PeopleForBikes, a national advocacy organization.
A small minority of residents don’t drive, “and many others would gladly walk, bike or take the bus if it were safe and practical to do so,” said Shirin Delsooz, founder of the local bicycle advocacy group I Bike CC, who emphasized that transportation plans must represent all residents — not only those who drive.
Nueces County commissioners weigh in
Each of the county commissioners suggested that certain projects be added to the list.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Pusley called for road improvements to a section of Interstate 37 headed into downtown that exits to Highway 358 where traffic piles up frequently and accidents happen “almost weekly.”
He pointed out that the city ranks fifth in the state of Texas in terms of traffic deaths related to speeding.
“It’s very frustrating that day after day, we see these accidents in the same place,” he said.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney said that Highway 361 between North Padre Island and Port Aransas is “about as bad as it comes” in terms of deadly crashes.
Precinct 3 Commissioner John Marez encouraged the MPO to expand the boundaries to include areas such as Robstown to provide bypasses and crossroads to the area, while Precinct 2 Commissioner Joe A. Gonzalez said the freeway ramps in Corpus Christi lack signage indicating when drivers should yield or have the right of way.
How the public can give input
People can read components of the draft plan, learn about the development process, read completed plans, provide information and ask questions through the MPO’s online hub at connect.corpuschristi-mpo.org.
People can submit public comment through these methods:
Fill out a form on the online hub
Mail written comments to Corpus Christi MPO, 602 N. Staples St., Suite 300, Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
What will the plan not include?
The plan will not include projects that are funded by 2018 to 2024 Corpus Christi bond projects or the Roadway Master Plan. However, those projects will be listed in the MPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan so that people can view all of the transportation projects for the region.
The Metropolitan Transportation Plan also won’t provide funding for roadway maintenance, including street paving, upgraded signs, crosswalks and pedestrian signals or roadway lighting, which local government and TxDOT typically pay for, MacDonald said.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Members of the public invited to comment on transportation concerns