At least two cars have driven into and gotten stuck in a trench within a construction zone along Staples Street in Corpus Christi.
“The car stuck here,” Tim Garza, who lives along the construction zone, said while indicating the trench. “It was sitting sideways.”
The two to three foot deep trench is the gap between newly finished concrete lanes and the old asphalt lanes that are yet to be redone. Dozens of large, orange barrels and barricades are in place in hopes of keeping cars on the road, and signs also give information to drivers for safe navigation. Still, Action 10 has received pictures showing two cars in the trench.
“It’s been bad for the last couple of months that I’ve lived here,” Garza said. “Real confusing, especially with all the [barricades].”
The city says, over the years, layer after layer of asphalt was laid on this stretch of Staples Street between Brawner Parkway and Kostoryz Road. The new concrete lanes are being created at a slightly lower elevation which explains the trench. The city says that workers regularly check the barrels, barricades, and signs to make sure the information is clear to drivers, but Garza still has some advice.
“Just to be careful, cautious,” he said. “There’s no school going on right now, so kids are out playing and stuff like that.”
The city says road repairs are only part of this project that comes from a 2012 bond package. The project also includes new wider sidewalks, traffic signal adjustments, pavement markings, signage, and improved underground systems for water, wastewater, storm water, and gas.
