THERE'S LIGHT AT THE END OF OLD PORT ISABEL ROAD BRIDGE

By Juan Montoya

According to notices passed out to Cameron County Public Works crews, Rene Capistran's Noble Texas Builders was supposed to start work on repairing the damaged Old Port Isabel Road Bridge over the eastern segment of the Resaca del Rancho Viejo October 7.

But given the normal delays associated with county bureaucracy, it wasn't until one month later, on November 7, that the contractor posted this sign below informing the public that it would start work then.

Before that, Public Works crews started the prep work for the construction of the new bridge over Old port Isabel Road in commissioner Joey Lopez's Precinct 2.

Workers were at the site clearing brush and vegetation from the right-of-way and cleared some trees with their backhoes. The start of the project was delayed a bit longer since a fiber optic cable runs under it and had to be rerouted before work could proceed.

The bridge was closed in mid-2019 after is sustained extensive guardrail damage that made crossing it dangerous to the public.

The thoroughfare is used by many of the neighborhoods in the area and is used to go from FM 802 to FM 511. When the bridge was closed it forced local residents and motorists heading north to use an alternate route around the Buena Vista Cemetery and then on to FM 511.

According to the announcement the work was supposed to take 10 weeks, weather permitting. Noble Builders was granted the $285,000 contract without bids after the county commission declared it an emergency acquisition.

Now, as the end of the year approaches, instead of Dec. 14 the 10 weeks after Nov. 7 will be mid-January 2020 before motorists and residents living there will have access to the bridge. However, all hope is not lost. The concrete box culverts are in place and the rest of the work –guardrails, signage, asphalt overlay, etc. – are the only thing left to construct once the culvert is declared set.

There is light at the end of the bridge.