Plans to forever change the Corpus Christi skyline are on hold after changing weather conditions Tuesday prompted a delay on efforts to decommission the iconic Harbor Bridge. A spokesperson with FlatironDragados – the heavy infrastructure firm in charge of the bridge project – confirmed the delay to MySA on Tuesday morning but said no other information was available.
Crews had been expected to spend Tuesday lowering the bridge’s center span onto a 300-foot-long barge called the Prometheus that was positioned beneath it. The process was expected to take at least 10 hours. However, that process may be delayed until later this week, pending the movement of a cold front that is expected to sweep through the Coastal Bend Tuesday night. Though the front is not expected for several more hours, wind speeds have already increased, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s gonna be later on tonight (Tuesday), but I believe we had some winds increasing to close to 25 mph already, so they went ahead and postponed it early,” NWS-Corpus Christi Meteorologist Nicholas Price told MySA.
Once the frontal boundary pushes through, winds are expected to stay elevated through Thursday.
“It’ll probably be around Thursday (that) winds will probably be down enough to where they’ll be able to operate again,” Price said.
Tuesday’s delay marked the second in as many days for the decommissioning of the historic bridge that has formed an integral part of Corpus Christi’s skyline since 1959. On Monday, after hours of watching and waiting, Texas Department of Transportation officials announced that efforts to lower the bridge’s center span would have to wait due to safety concerns.
“Preparations to lower the bridge’s center span have taken longer than anticipated Monday,” TxDOT said in a news release. Officials added that crews must carry out the project during daylight hours. With the lowering on hold, the Prometheus was moved out of position to allow marine traffic on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel to resume Monday night. At about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the Prometheus again began moving out of position as the second delay took hold.
The U.S.S. Lexington is seen in the distance as crews work to prepare the historic Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge for dismantling. (Courtesy FlatironDragados)
How is the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge being dismantled?
Crews have been working for weeks to reduce the weight of the 386-foot-long center span, which originally weighed 5.9 million pounds, according to FlatironDragados. More than 100 concrete panels were removed from the span, while the structure was reinforced with temporary “sway frames” and bracing. Eventually, the center span will be lowered onto the Prometheus, which will be moored in place with the help of tugboats. The Prometheus will then transport the span to Ingleside, “where it will be further deconstructed into manageable sections for recycling and reuse,” FlatironDragados stated in a Facebook post on October 14. Dismantling of the rest of the bridge is expected to take another year.
Shown is the new U.S. 181 Harbor Bridge as it undergoes testing of a new LED light system that allows different colors to be projected onto the bridge’s infrastructure. The bridge officially opened in June 2025. (Courtesy FlatironDragados)
What is replacing the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge?
The historic Harbor Bridge’s replacement, the U.S. 181 Harbor Bridge, is already up and operational. It took $1.3 billion and nine years to build. The new bridge’s main span stretches 1,661 feet, making it “the longest concrete segmental cable-stayed bridge in North America,” according to a fact sheet on the FlatironDragados website. It features six lanes – three in each direction, divided by a median, plus shoulders, and a crossing for cyclists and pedestrians.
The new Harbor Bridge rises 538 feet tall to the tip of its main tower, and has a clearance of 205 feet above the water. Officials say the structure, which is expected to last 170 years, is the tallest in South Texas.
This article originally published at Strong winds halt plan to lower iconic Corpus Christi bridge.