The Houston Ship Channel expansion project, also known as Project 11, continues to make significant progress. Port officials announced that dredging of the first segment extending from Bolivar Roads to Redfish, known as Segment 1A, is complete. The work was completed on schedule and on budget.
Project 11’s Segment 1A constitutes eleven and a half miles in the Bay. The expansion of this area is expected to help increase safety, reduce congestion, and improve vessel transit times by approximately an hour by reducing daylight restrictions.
“The completion of segment 1A is a great step forward to sustain the busiest waterway in the nation,” said Roger Guenther, Executive Director at Port Houston. “It moves Port Houston one step closer to handling unrestricted two-way traffic of larger vessels for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Project 11 is on track toward its goal of completion in 2025, an aggressive timeline that is necessary to accommodate the future needs of businesses and vessels. “The deepening and widening of the channel is a $1 billion commitment to our growing economy, the generation of more jobs in our region, and the safety of the nearly 20,000 vessel transiting the Houston Ship Channel every year,” said Guenther.
Work continues on the construction of Long Bird Island and is expected to be completed later in the year. The 4-5-acre new island habitat includes various land elevations, shore protection, oyster wave trips and a lagoon. Additional dredging is currently underway in the Redfish to Bayport portion of the Channel (Segment 1B) and work in this area is scheduled for 2024 completion.