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NOTHING LASTS FOREVER!
By: W.A. Hayes, P.E., W.S. Minor, III, P.E., T.W. Stewart, P.E. American Society of Civil Engineers - Texas Section/Corpus Christi Branch History and Heritage Committee Infrastructure...the foundation or framework of a city, which its citizens depend on daily for speedy transportation, a reliable and clean water supply, and sanitary methods of dealing with our wastes. Beyond the basic services needed for survival, infrastructure also includes improvements to our surroundings which enhance the quality of our lives, such as scenic parks and recreational hike and bike trails. Many civil engineers dedicate their professional careers to serving the public directly as members of the staff of local or State governments like the City, County, or Texas Department of Transportation. Others serve as consultants to these governmental entities and assist with designing public systems. Their knowledge of science, math, and business is applied toward solving the technical problems encountered in keeping up with the needs of a growing population. An area which has received a lot of attention lately and required expenditures of a large amount of money has been the maintenance of some of Corpus Christi's aging public works. One of the greatest challenges of civil engineering is designing structures that are affordable to build and will last a long time. However, as each of us who owns something mechanical like a car or a home knows, nothing lasts forever without eventually needing repairs. This holds true for dams, bridges, and seawalls, too. Over the course of time many forces such as heavy use and the harsh environment result in wear and tear to the extent that rehabilitation, sometimes costly, is needed. Without refurbishment the future safety and integrity of the structure could be in jeopardy. Shown in these photographs are some views of Corpus Christi's infrastructure, past and present. Civil engineers played a key role in their original design and are involved in ongoing efforts to ensure these vital public assets function well into the twenty-first century. |
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Photos provided by the City of Corpus Christi Water Department, The Dr. Fred'k McGregor Photo Collection of the Corpus Christi Museum, and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo. |
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The first water supply system on the Nueces River was finished in 1893. The City bought it in 1908. In 1915, the year this photo was taken, an oil engine plant was installed. Water was drawn from a well 50 feet from the river, so it was filtered by natural sand and gravel before being pumped to the City. As technology and equipment progressed through the years this facility was transformed into the Cunningham Plant. |
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Three pressure filters with a combined capacity of 1,500,000 gallons per day were added to the Calallen Water Plant in 1915 in order to keep up with the City's growth. |
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The O.N. Stevens Water Filtration Plant was built between 1954 and 1955 at a cost of $3,403,000. It replaced the Cunningham Plant and had an original capacity of 48 million gallons per day. This facility has undergone a number of renovations since then, and before the end of 1998 will be receiving water from the Lake Texana pipeline. |
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On the right is Wesley E. Seale Dam near the end of construction in 1958. Almost forty years later, in 1997 major repairs were completed on its 60 crest gates. Further work may now be needed to stop movement of its spillways. On the left can be seen Corpus Christi Dam, which Wesley Seale replaced. Less than a year after its completion in 1929 this structure, then known as La Fruta Dam, partially collapsed resulting in total loss of the water in Lake Lovenskiold. |
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Construction on Corpus Christi's first wastewater treatment plant, the Broadway Plant shown above, was finished in 1937. There are now five additional treatment plants to service the City. Capital improvement plans call for closing Broadway and transferring its wastewater to the Allison Plant for treatment. |
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The Don Patricio Causeway, connecting Padre Island with Flour Bluff, opened in 1927. It was destroyed by a hurricane in 1933 and its cedar piling can still be seen today during low tide. The second causeway, built with fill material dredged from the Laguna Madre, replaced it in 1950. Now known as the John F. Kennedy Causeway, it is currently being considered for major revision to raise its elevation. |
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The Bascule Bridge seen raised in the foreground was built by the City and went into service in 1926. It accommodated automobile, rail, and marine traffic for 33 years. As the number of cars, trains, and ship movements increased significantly with population growth and trade in the Port, the bridge became a bottleneck. The Harbor Bridge replaced it. |
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Completed in 1959, the Harbor Bridge is almost 40 years old now. There was an intense debate during original planning over whether a tunnel or a bridge should be built. To prevent corrosion to its steel structure it is periodically repainted. Its deck has been replaced and other improvements have been made to increase the safety of those who cross it. |
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Plans for the replacement of the Bascule Bridge in the 1950s included relocation of its rail traffic to an upper harbor crossing. This resulted in construction of the Tule Lake Lift Bridge. It has undergone extensive renovation and modernization in recent years. |
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When these two dredges met in the mud flats of the Laguna Madre in 1949, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was opened from Corpus Christi to Brownsville. Periodic maintenance dredging is necessary to keep this important mode of transportation clear for commercial traffic. |
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The balustrade and other improvements to the natural bluff separating uptown from downtown took 5 years to complete. Conrad Blucher was City Engineer at the time. The balustrade has been restored, along with the Pompeo Coppini fountain seen here. |
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Built between 1939 and 1941, the seawall transformed the appearance of the downtown bayfront and provided critical protection from the destructive forces of hurricanes. Engineering studies are now underway to determine what repairs are needed to keep it sound at its 60th anniversary and beyond. |
