The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, approved by the US Congress in December 2022, includes project closeout funding of US$157.3 million for the Port of Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP) for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
The funding will advance the last phase of the CIP, which will permit safer and more efficient transport of greater volumes of freight upon completion.
The CIP will increase the depth of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel from 47 feet (14.3 metres) Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) to 54 feet (16.4 metres) MLLW, while also widening it to 530 feet (161.5 metres). An additional 400 feet (121.9 metres) of barge shelves will also be constructed, allowing for two-way traffic of both vessels and barges in tandem.
The Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is a four-phase undertaking. Phase one is complete, while phases two and three are under construction. Texas-based dredging companies Callan Marine and Great Lakes Dredge and Dock are conducting dredging operations for phases two and three, respectively.
With this final appropriation, phase four will begin in 2023, with the entire project estimated for completion in 2024.
