Local dignitaries braced the cold, scissors in hand, to cut a long blue ribbon marking the end of the first — and most costly — stage of the LaQuinta Channel dredging project. Former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson was on hand for the event.
"The dredging, which is what we're celebrating today, means that we are going to be able to be the first big stop off for Central and South America," Hutchinson said in her remarks. "And after the Panama Canal is opened up, we're going to be able to compete very effectively with the West Coast." She called the project the biggest transformation of any area in the entire state of Texas.
The 1.4 mile extension is equivalent to building a new highway to a community, she said. The bigger channel makes it possible for bigger ships to bring bigger cargo loads both in and out of the port. New companies already building or expanding in the area because of the channel dredging include Voestalpine Texas HBI, TPCO American Corp. Steel Pipe, Cheniere Energy and Gulf Compress Cotton Storage.
The project is part of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel – Channel Improvement Project authorized by Section 1001(40) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. Funding for the construction contracts was approved on May 17, 2011 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of its 2011 work plan for the Army Civil Works program. The project cost $33.5 million.
The 5 million cubic tons dug up from the channel are being used to to make a sea grass bed for fish and ocean birds. The U-shaped grass bed is next to the channel extension.
More dredging will take the channel down to 45 feet at an additional cost of $6 million. It is currently at 39 feet. The additional dredging should be completed by July.
