The bridge was located across the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and open to traffic from October 1959 until September 2025 when the access ramps to the new cable-stayed bridge was opened. For more than six decades, this through arch bridge provided passage across the ship channel to and from downtown Corpus Christi and Rincon Point (known to locals as the North Beach area). At the end of October 2025, this through arch bridge was dismantled, lowered to a barge and then moved approximated six miles along the ship channel to a moorage location to await for determination as to its eventual assignment.

Originally named the Texas Highway Department, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), in 1959, built the original Harbor Bridge, which was the largest project of the TxDOT had ever attempted up until that time. This bridge had pre-pressed concrete and neoprene pads, which set this bridge apart as a technological and engineering advancement of the time.

That old Harbor Bridge was a through arch bridge that accommodated six lanes of traffic from downtown Corpus Christi to Rincon Point. According to TxDOT, the original bridge met its intended lifespan while serving the Corpus Christi community for more than 60 years before a new bridge was ever considered.

Yes, for more than 60 years, the 1959 Harbor Bridge has served as an iconic landmark, a key transportations asset and has connected the people and places surrounding Corpus Christi. For those six decades, this 1959 bridge has benefited generations of families and has made significant contributions to both the economy as well as the identy of the surrounding community.

The old bridge measured nearly 6,000 feet long, 243 feet tall and 73 feet wide and allowed a clearance for boat passage underneath of 138 feet.

In 1959 the Texas Highway Department (now TXDOT) built the largest bridge in its history, the Harbor Bridge. Using techniques considered cutting-edge at the time, the bridge allowed large ships to enter the port for more than 60 years.

When the through arch bridge was completed in 1959, after having taken 3 years and 4 months to build, it opened on the 23rd of October 1959 and became an instant hit with the public. The new arch bridge quickly became the symbol of Corpus Christi and also one of its most photographed structures. This bridge was a majestic piece of engineering that really did add additional sparkle to the Sparkling City by the Sea.

There was a special thrill that never got which was the sight one got when returning to Corpus Christi over the bridge, especially at night. From the crest of the bridge, one has just a few seconds to take in the whole magnificent scene that spanned from the west across to the south including: the brilliantly lit refineries to the west all the way over to the lights of the Naval Air Station to the south.

No, after its opening in 1959, it did not take long for this new Harbor Bridge to become the signature structure in Corpus Christi and the primary subject of just about every postcard for sale to tourists.