Texas, the state known for having bigger things than others, is poised to include another "Texas-sized" object, this time in the form of a massive cross that will be erected in the town of Corpus Christi and become the largest in the U.S. once construction is complete by the end of the year.
The Corpus Christi Cross Project, named after the town it will be erected in, has been working to make the cross a reality for the past three years. This work bore fruit for the first time on Sunday when members of the group broke ground at the Abundant Life Fellowship campus off Interstate 37 in Northwest Corpus Christi.
Rick Milby, the church pastor, said that once complete, the cross will be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, standing at 210 feet tall and 95 feet wide.
A massive cross like this likely needed a massive form of inspiration, and Milby revealed that is exactly what happened. He said that he got the idea after coming across a 170-foot tall cross near Houston's Sagemont Church near I-45, reported Chron. He soon heard about "lives that were changed, suicides that were aborted, relationships that were restored because of the influence of the cross," and he decided that it was time to have one of his own.
The cross will cost $1 million to make, $142,000 of which has already been connected. Those who contribute large sums of money to the effort will have their contributions noted on pave stones at the foot of the cross.
Milby revealed that the cross was only supposed to be 150 feet tall, but it soon grew to 210 feet as the plans evolved. As such, it allows for "a two-foot deflection at the top" and will be visible from five miles away on land and 10 miles by air, according to USA Today.
He added that the cross will sway in the wind two feet back and forth, but it isn't likely to be uprooted since it will be anchored in 48-foot deep concrete foundation so "if it were to blow over, it would pull up about three acres of land with it."
The Corpus Christi will tower over other large crosses that Texas seems to have an affinity for. Other than the one in Houston, there are others in Groom and Ballinger, 190 feet and 100 feet high, respectively.
However even with its massive size, it still won't be the tallest cross in the world. That honor goes to a cross in Madrid that stands 495 feet high - more than double the height of the proposed Corpus Christi cross.
