The Port of Corpus Christi will soon be 530 feet wider and 54 feet deeper, following approval of a $32 million acceleration and Project Partnership Agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the port itself.
The port authority commission approved the agreement last week, signaling a move that will, they hope, widen the channel enough to allow for two-way vessel and barge traffic, as well as carve it deep enough to allow in deeper draft large vessels.
“The widening and deepening of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and construction of barge shelves are needed to guarantee continued economic growth for South Texas and Port Corpus Christi and for ensuring the safety of port operations,” Charles W. Zahn, chairman of the Port Corpus Christi Commission, said. “The Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is critical to the Texas economy, and the Nation’s movement toward global energy dominance.”
The improvement project was first authorized by Congress in 2007, as part of the Water Resources Development Act. It was re-authorized in 2014, again under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016. It is estimated to cost $327 million, split between the USACE and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority (PCCA). The lion’s share will be tackled by the USACE, which will invest $225 million, while the PCCA will handle $102 million.
When finished, the channel will be widened the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Harbor Island. The project will also generate jobs and go a long ways in aiding the economy in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation, according to Colonel Lars Zetterstrom, commander of the Galveston District of the USACE.