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Causeway between the island and Port Isabel on the mainland was opened in 1974 soon after the Port Mansfield Gulf Channel was completed and separated South Padre Island from Padre Island forever. At 2.37 miles long, it is the longest bridge in Texas. It is 85 feet or about 8 1/2 stories high at its tallest point and is engineered to accommodate ample clearance for ships, barges, and other vessels passing beneath its giant concrete pilings. The first bridge, a shorter swing bridge, was opened 20 years earlier in 1954. Before that, ferries were used to go to Padre Island.
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North America
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