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The Port of Corpus Christi recently hosted federal, state and local leaders at a historic event celebrating the forthcoming completion of the ship channel improvement project.
The project, which began in 2019, improved approximately 11.9 miles of channel, deepening it from 47 to 54 feet and widening it from 400 to 530 feet.
About five million cubic yards of dredged material from the project went into restoring marshes in the Corpus Christi and Nueces bays.
The overall channel improvement project will combat erosion within the channel by providing 395 acres of sacrificial erosion protection along with the construction of a 2,000-foot breakwater—to tie into a currently planned 4,000-foot breakwater—in the Nueces Delta.
Construction on the transformative $625 million initiative commenced in 2017. The newly expanded waterway facilitates safe, navigable commerce for larger vessels and two-way traffic, enabling more efficient transport of crude oil, liquefied natural gas and other commodities. Annual transportation cost savings are estimated to exceed $200 million.