Chris Ramirez

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Residents who rent in Hillcrest will be eligible for relocation benefits during the Harbor Bridge replacement project, even if the property owner isn't willing to participate in the program, under a deal brokered Friday.

The agreement reached by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration keeps funding for the $930 million construction project on track.

The two agencies had been at odds since January over whether residents living in the country illegally or absentee landlords in the Northside neighborhood should be eligible for benefits under a volunteer relocation and property acquisition program.

Late Friday, they announced a deal allowing written offers to be provided for eligible residents seeking relocation from the neighborhood to commence. They also agreed that landlords would receive fair market value of their property and specific relocation benefits that include moving personal property and relocation advisory services.

The agreement does not include replacement housing for landlords.

"We're absolutely thrilled with this resolution. It's a win for residents, a win for (the transportation department), a win for the port," said Sean Strawbridge, deputy executive director and chief operating officer for the Port of Corpus Christi. The port is putting up $20 million to relocate residents and buy properties. "We were all able to come away with something positive."

The Rev. Adam Carrington, a member of the Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress, a grassroots residents' group in Hillcrest, described the overall movement on the agreement Friday as a “good first step.”

He added he was pleased with most of the benefits under the voluntary relocation program, but wasn’t in agreement with the handling of benefits for landlords.

Some of the landlords could be left in a bind — prospectively losing tenants without having replacement housing to rent out could put their livelihoods in jeopardy, Carrington said.

A protest planned for Monday will go on, he said.

Although it’s good to see an agreement back in place, residents still need to have offers in hand, Carrington said, adding that once that happens, the protests could instead become “celebratory rallies.”

Carrington said the group will also continue work to ensure that officials follow through with other pieces of the agreement, including promised area improvements for residents who choose to stay in the neighborhood.

Built in the 1950s, the Harbor Bridge connects the city's Northside with North Beach. State officials say the span is too old and costly to maintain, and want to replace it with a six-lane, cable-stayed bridge. Construction on the project will dramatically impact Hillcrest.

Federal Highway Administration funds account for nearly one third of the project.

More than 500 Hillcrest properties have been deemed eligible for the program. Nearly 250 property owners have shown interest in selling.



Roughly 60,000 vehicles cross the distinctive 138-foot-high Harbor Bridge each day.

Groundbreaking on the project was in August. Construction is expected to run until spring 2021.

Kirsten Crow contributed to this report.



PROJECT TIMELINE



Aug. 8: Ground breaking, construction of Interstate 37 interchange gets underway

2016-2020: Construction continues

Early spring 2020: Construction of Crosstown Expressway/I-37 starts

Late spring 2020: Construction of new bridge complete, demolition of old Harbor Bridge begins

Spring 2021: Demolition of old Harbor Bridge complete

Source: Flatiron/Dragados

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