Work On Coastal Texas Project To Begin
Funding in the recently announced Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program FY 2024 Work Plan will allow the Galveston Engineer District to begin work on the Coastal Texas Project.
The work plan allocates $500,000 to support the preconstruction, engineering and design of the first segment of the project’s Bolivar Peninsula and West Bay Gulf Intracoastal Waterway shoreline and island protection feature, also known as Ecosystem Restoration feature G-28. The funding will also go toward preparing the project for construction.
The Corps can now work with non-federal partners the Gulf Coast Protection District, the Texas General Land Office and non-profit partner Ducks Unlimited to begin developing the first set of plans and specifications and to prepare the G-28 feature for construction.
“The Coastal Texas Project is one of the largest projects in the history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Col. Rhett Blackmon, Galveston District commander. “This project is important to the nation for many reasons. Not only will it reduce risk to the vulnerable populations along the Texas coast, but it will also protect vital ecosystems and economically critical infrastructure vital to the U.S. supply chain and the many global industries located here.”
Representing a systemwide risk management strategy for the Texas coastline, the Coastal Texas Project employs multiple lines of defense to reduce the risk of coastal storm surge and restore degraded coastal ecosystems. The Galveston Bay Storm Surge Barrier System, which includes the Bolivar Roads Gate System, integrates structural and non-structural coastal storm risk management features to improve the resiliency of coastal communities and the shoreline.
Ecosystem Restoration feature G-28 includes shoreline and island protection along the GIWW on Bolivar Peninsula to the north shore of West Bay.
“The Gulf Coast Protection District is ready to kick-start design efforts on the Coastal Texas Project,” said GCPD President Michel Bechtel. “We look forward to working side-by-side with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Texas General Land Office to quickly progress toward this initial construction contract.”
After Hurricane Ike devastated the upper Texas coast in 2008, the Corps and the Texas General Land Office embarked on the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study. The six-year, $20 million comprehensive study sought to reduce risks to public health and the economy, restore critical ecosystems and advance coastal resiliency. The effort culminated in the signing of the Chief’s Report on September 16, 2021, and the Coastal Texas Project was authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022.
Caption for photo (click on photo for full image): This rendering illustrates what the proposed Galveston Bay Storm Surge Barrier System, which includes the Bolivar Roads Gate System, could look like. The system integrates structural and non-structural coastal storm risk management features to improve the resiliency of coastal communities and the shoreline. (Galveston Engineer District graphic)
