Improving one of the county’s most-popular recreational facilities is continuing this month, with a major street repaving project currently under way at Isla Blanca County Park.
The $342,000 project approved by the Cameron County Commissioners Court will repave 13 streets in and around the park as part of the Coastal Park Master Plan adopted in 2008.
Most of the streets are located inside the gate at Isla Blanca Park, but other streets just outside the park, including the entrance street, are also getting an overhaul, said Joe E. Vega, county parks director.
Vega said the park remains open, and he hopes the work will be completed just before Memorial Day weekend.
“There’s signage out there, and the good thing is most of this work is being done Monday through Thursday,” Vega said. “Crews are working 10-hour workdays Monday through Thursday, so on the weekends there’s very minimal disruption.”
The latest investment in Isla Blanca is just the newest chapter in the ongoing effort to enhance a park that Vega calls “the crown jewel of the Texas coast.”
“The judge and the commissioners court have been very adamant about making the necessary improvements to improve the quality of life for our visitors at Isla Blanca Park, as well as our other parks,” Vega said. “As you know, we have invested over $35 million in improvements here at Isla Blanca Park.”
Those new features include a beachfront boardwalk, two new beachfront pavilions, resurfacing and adding 220 new parking spaces at Parking Lot 10 and refurbishing the jetties’ restrooms and sidewalks. Also, the bathhouse for RV visitors received an overhaul.
This year, the county also constructed new toll booths and a re-entry lane.
Vega said county officials are not standing still and plans include a necessary overhaul of the electrical system for the RV sites. The park offers more than 600 RV sites.
“Future improvements include upgrading the electric for Isla Blanca Park for RV sites, upgrading it from 30 amps to 50 amps,” Vega said. “As you know the new RVs require more amperage. I see RV sites that have four or five wires out, washers and dryers, so one of the things we would like to do is improve the electric and upgrade it from 30 amps to 50 amps.”
Funding for the street project was generated from bond proceeds, Vega said.
