(This story was updated to add new information.)
The developer of the new Harbor Bridge is assessing security measures to prevent public breaches after a man climbed a suspension cable of the bridge last week.
On the afternoon of Sept. 24, a man climbed one of the suspension cables of the new bridge and perched at the top, about 85 feet above traffic.
The incident prompted a coordinated rescue by officers from the Corpus Christi Police Department and fire personnel with the Corpus Christi Fire Department.
Officers from the Corpus Christi Police Department Hostage Negotiation Team arrived at the scene, while first responders from Fire Station 1 brought a 100-foot aerial ladder attached to a fire truck, according to Assistant Chief Tony Perez. A hostage negotiation team member and fire captain ascended the ladder in a basket secured to the top of the aerial platform, which the captain maneuvered into position to talk to the man on the bridge and persuade him to climb into the basket, Perez said.
The man was taken to a hospital immediately afterward and has not been charged with a crime, Corpus Christi police senior officer Antonio Contreras said.
Such high-risk rescues are not unprecedented. The police department’s Hostage Negotiation Team, which trains to deescalate crises, engages in joint training exercises with the fire department each year.
After the incident, the bridge contractor, Flatiron/Dragados LLC, said in an emailed statement that it had hosted quarterly rescue drills with the Corpus Christi police and fire departments, which simulated high-elevation and confined-space rescues, throughout the construction of the bridge.
“Flatiron/Dragados, the new Harbor Bridge developer, is reviewing Wednesday’s incident with (the Texas Department of Transportation) to assess security measures and to prevent public breaches inside the median of the new cable-stayed bridge,” Lynn Allison, a spokesperson for Flatiron/Dragados, wrote in the email.
The contractor and the Texas Department of Transportation have touted the safety features of the new bridge, which include a 10-foot-tall fence that arches inward along the shared-use path spanning the bay side of the bridge.
Although the features are designed to deter people from climbing or jumping off the bridge, the recent incident highlights the needs for additional safety barriers around other parts that people might climb.
TxDOT deferred comments about bridge safety to the contractor.
In past years, the old Corpus Christi truss bridge faced issues with people climbing, including in 2019, when a Corpus Christi police officer went more than 200 feet above the pavement in a rescue bucket to talk to a 41-year-old man who had climbed to the top, according to previous Caller-Times reporting.
Perez said that the fire department used to respond to calls of people climbing on the old bridge’s superstructure or underside.
Each rescue situation requires an evaluation of the personnel and equipment needed, he said.
High-visibility signs were placed along the pedestrian walking paths on the old bridge, with messages reading, “We can help you cross this bridge. Call 1-888-767-4493.”
Through a partnership between police, the Nueces Center for Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the signs were intended to help people who may be coping with mental illness or who are at risk of suicide.
Anyone who is rescued from the bridge who is experiencing a mental health crisis “of a certain magnitude” goes to the hospital for an evaluation, said police officer Madeline Vaughn.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Safety of new Harbor Bridge in question after man climbs suspension cable
Reporting by Katie Nickas, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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