Hostage Negotiators Called After Man Climbs Corpus Christi Bridge

Less than 80 days open, and the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge already looks like a movie scene.

On September 24, around 12:37 p.m., Corpus Christi Police were dispatched after a man was spotted climbing one of the suspension cables on the brand-new Harbor Bridge.

Chaos on the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge

Traffic instantly turned into a nightmare. Officers shut down two lanes in both directions while the Corpus Christi Fire Department rolled out a tower ladder to get CCPD’s Hostage Negotiation Team closer to the climber.

 "After successful communication with the man, he agreed to come down from the structure. He was assisted by CCFD," CCFD posted on social media.

Firefighters placed him in a basket on the ladder and safely lowered him to the ground. He was later transported to a local hospital for evaluation. No injuries were reported, just a lot of drivers stuck staring at the massive bridge, wondering what exactly they had just witnessed.

What do you even do in that type of situation?

You’re already halfway across, traffic is frozen, and now you’re watching a man crawling up the bridge cables. I didn’t trust the old Harbor Bridge, and I’m not sure this one feels much better.

If you’ve already changed your route to avoid going over the new bridge, you’re not alone. With construction delays, safety concerns, and now this, the Harbor Bridge is South Texas’s most talked-about landmark.

So, less than three months in and we’ve already got cops, hostage negotiators, and a viral photo op.