After nearly two decades, plans to build a second causeway to South Padre Island are moving forward.

The Texas Transportation Commission added State Highway 104 to the state highway system. That opens up the door to additional funding sources needed to speed up the development of the second causeway.

Residents have shown excitement around this project and how it will help not only alleviate congestion during the peak of summer but also provide an alternate evacuation route during hurricane season.

"We are definitely on the right path in a way that just hadn't occurred before, this is what we had been working 20 plus years for," Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. said.

Trevino says it will allow for another evacuation route, help improve traffic and will boost economic development.

"Opening up, obviously, the northern island of South Padre for development. A lot of credit to go around, and the benefits are almost immeasurable," Trevino said.

The second causeway will be built near FM 106 and will land around one mile north of Cameron County Beach Access 5. 

Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority says the bridge will be eight miles long.

The second causeway will be a part of the state system for roads and transportation. That means funding will come from agencies like the Texas Department of Transportation.

For now, the county and their partners will continue working on the environmental phase. They hope to be done with that no later than 2026

After the environmental planning phase, they can move on to the design, engineering and construction of the bridge.

Officials say construction will begin no later than 2029. The total cost of the project will be $700 million or more, depending on the timeline.