By Sea, Road and Air, Accessibility Is an Asset in Coastal Bend
Published Aug 14, 2009
While most of the rest of the country – and the world – is focusing on ways to reduce transportation congestion, Coastal Bend is ready to be part of the solution through port, highway, airport and rail enhancements.
“Our port is a very active, very forward-thinking organization,” says Tom Niskala, director of transportation planning for the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization. “We’re a strategic military deployment port – one of five in the country – and a major port for wind turbine installations. All the tanks and Humvees were loaded onto ships here and transported to Iraq or Afghanistan, and they’ll come back though here, too.”
Based directly on the water, and with Interstate 37 ending right in Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend is poised to be the next great commercial hub, and the port is only the beginning. A new container facility called La Quinta that would allow for increased growth in container trade is planned for completion in 2014. And major highway improvements are in the works to accommodate the increased traffic from freight expansion with Cuba and Mexico.
“There are still an incredible amount of goods and services coming out of Mexico into Texas,” Niskala says. “Currently there is work under way to develop an interstate-level highway between Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley. Ultimately that portion of the interstate highway may become part of the Interstate 69 development from Texas all the way to the northern United States.”
The area is also served by three Class 1 railroads: Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The port also has its own short-line railroad called the Corpus Christi Terminal. Again, Coastal Bend has an eye on the future. “There are two rural rail districts that are looking at improvements in the two-county area that would serve agricultural and commercial interests,” Niskala says. “They’re in the planning stages now.”
But the ground isn’t the only place getting a futuristic facelift. In addition to aggressive improvements in the local street system, the Corpus Christi International Airport is enjoying its own growth spurt. “Extension of the runway is in the planning stages, and there’s a commercial development program for property at the airport in the works,” Niskala says. “Additional tenants are being accommodated with new facilities at the airport, including the U.S. Coast Guard, immigration officials and other government agencies.”
For countries looking to move goods and services in and out of the United States, Coastal Bend’s location isn’t the end; it’s the beginning. “Coastal Bend has consistently grown at a rate the infrastructure can handle that growth,” Niskala says. “It’s truly a multi-modal city. Congestion levels are manageable, and work continues to make sure we contain the level of mobility we enjoy.”
Story by Danny Bonvissuto
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