Will the downtown art stay? Here's what state legislators said.

The original artwork featured on colorful downtown Corpus Christi traffic cabinets — seemingly imperiled last week by a state directive — can stay, according to officials.

The large metal boxes house traffic control equipment and are situated on sidewalks — and, in Corpus Christi, are well known for their hand-painted images spanning a wide variety of themes, from luchadores and bright Coastal Bend scenes to Whataburger homages and multicolored cats.