Signing a memorandum of understanding between the Port of Corpus Christi and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are (from left) Col. Lars Zetterstrom, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District commander; Charles W. Zahn Jr., chairman of the Port Corpus Christi Commission; and John LaRue, Port Corpus Christi executive director. Courtesy photo
Sediment sampling needed before work can begin widening and deepening the Corpus Christi ship channel will soon get underway. The $1.8 million sediment testing project was part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed recently between the Port of Corpus Christi and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“The Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is one of the most critical components to Port Corpus Christi’s Strategic Plan ensuring future prosperity for our region.” said Charles Zahn, chairman of the port authority board of directors. “The deeper, wider ship channel will create greater shipping efficiencies by allowing larger vessels with fewer trips to call on our port. This will help us meet the needs of our industry partners for many years to come.”
Deeper and wider will allow the port to handle bigger ships now sailing through a newly expanded Panama Canal. Zahn and several other board members were in Panama for the grand opening of the new locks in June. Known as supermax vessels, these ships carry more cargo, upping the tonnage a port can handle while decreasing the number of ships traveling in and out of the waterways.
The Port of Corpus Christi will handle the initial cost of the sampling work but will ultimately be eligible for credit toward the port’s cost-share requirement on the overall project.
“The MOU will allow the port to start the sediment sampling work that would be required prior to awarding a dredging contract for the entrance channel,” said Nick Laskowski, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District.
The testing will take 10 months to complete, shortening the time needed to issue a dredging contract by that same amount.
After the sampling, the Corpus Christi Ship Channel-Channel Improvement Project can begin in earnest with design and dredging next in the process. However, additional federal funding will be needed to fully complete the project. Pending federal appropriations, the dredging project is expected to begin in 2017.
