Port Houston is moving forward with plans to expand the Houston Ship Channel from the Gulf of Mexico and across Galveston Bay. The Port Commission signed a $92.5 million contract with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. for dredging work as the first phase of the channel’s widening and improvement Project 11, the company announced on Nov. 22.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock will dredge 11.5 miles of the channel to widen a portion of the bay from 530 ft to 700 ft, the company says. It will pump 1.6 million cu yd of dredged material to construct a new island for a bird habitat and oyster reef.