PORT ISABEL — The Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway has re-opened to traffic after being closed for close two hours due to the activation of an emergency system.
According to Octavio Saenz, a Texas Department of Transportation public information officer, the causeway’s emergency system activates whenever there is an interruption in any part of it, which includes a large fiber optic cable that runs the length of the bridge.
“Whenever it’s activated, the lights go off, the barrier comes down and a squad car on South Padre Island’s side will prevent any vehicles from getting on,” he explained. “Usually, which is the exception rather than the rule, sometimes the system can be activated due to a power outage or a strong gust of wind can cause that.”
Saenz said sometimes even the shift of very strong temperature changes can also cause it to activate because the bridge expands and compresses like any material on the road.
Saenz said a TxDOT crew and the Coast Guard personnel inspected the causeway as a precautionary measure.
“There are no incidents, crashes, nothing of that sort. Nevertheless, we have the safety of people’s lives in our hands,” Saenz said.
According to a tweet from TxDOT posted around 11 a.m., crews are still reviewing the electrical components of the alert system.
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9:45 A.M.
The Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge is currently closed in both directions due to a possible power outage, according to a Facebook post from the City of South Padre Island
The city says the power outage may have triggered the emergency lights and barriers to activate.
They say the Texas Department of Public Safety is working to reopen the bridge.
