Port Freeport announces completion of Reach 3 dredging

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) has completed the first segment of the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project.

Port Freeport and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on the segment in April 2021.

“The completion of Reach 3 is a great accomplishment for Port Freeport and for the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project. A deeper channel will enable Port Freeport to serve a wider range of global vessels and support the region’s growing economy, Port Freeport Commission Chairman, John Hoss, said.

“This project will increase commerce, increase job growth, and increase economic stability for the families in Brazoria County.”

The first dredging contract deepened the segment of the Freeport Harbor Channel adjacent to the Port’s Velasco Container Terminal, referred to as Reach 3, to 51 feet mean Lower Low Water making way for larger, deeper-draft vessels to call Port Freeport.

A contract for the second phase (Reach 2 Widening) of the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project Construction was signed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on October 27, 2021.

Orion Marine Group will start dredging on the Reach 2 Widening after the first of the year. Under this contract, the narrowest section of the Freeport Harbor Channel will be widened to 400 feet improving navigation safety for vessels.

The estimated total cost of the project is $295 million, of which the federal government share is $165 million, and Port Freeport as the local sponsor is responsible for the remaining $130 million to be funded by the 2018 voter-approved bond package.