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Port Houston, working in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has completed its portion of the Houston Ship Channel Expansion — Project 11.
Construction of channel improvements began in 2022, and now the project has reached its most important milestone dredging completion of the widening of the Galveston Bay reach from Bolivar Roads to Morgans Point. With this work done, Port Houston-led project dredging of the Houston Ship Channel is complete.
Port Commission Chairman Ric Campo commented: “This collaborative achievement is truly a testament to the hard work of all the individuals involved in the project and reminds us of the importance of the Houston Ship Channel to the nation.”
Widening of the channel through Galveston Bay, from 530 feet to 700 feet, represents a physical transformation that allows for improved safety, greater efficiency, and increased economic benefit of this critical economic artery of the region, state, and nation.
As vessels continue to grow in length, beam, and tonnage across a variety of vessel types, the widened Galveston Bay reach will help keep the facilities relying on the channel competitive and dynamic, both today and into the future.
While Port-led dredging is now complete for navigation, some beneficial use aspects of the project remain under construction, including marsh areas that are being built with dredged material.
To the extent possible, all Project 11 dredged material in the Galveston Bay area was used to construct environmental features, which will ultimately include approximately 10 acres of bird islands, 276 acres of marsh, and 324 acres of oyster reefs.
In addition to these environmental benefits, Project 11 channel expansion is expected to provide air quality benefits, as vessel nitrogen oxide emissions are expected to be reduced by between three percent and seven percent. Also, the dredges contracted for the first three segments of the project were equipped with either Tier 3 or Tier 4 engines or scrubbers, which efficiently remove pollutants from exhaust gases.
The Houston Ship Channel Expansion Project 11 has been honored with multiple awards, including the 2025 Environmental Excellence Award from the Western Dredging Association (WEDA) and the 2025 Texas American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (OCEA).
The USACE will lead the remaining portions of the project, which are scheduled to be completed in 2029 and will generate further benefits along the channel.