Funding coastal protection From the cover
The overview
In May, the Army Civil Works Program Fiscal Year 2024 Work Plan allocated $500,000 for preconstruction and design of the first segment of work for the Coastal Texas Project at Bolivar Peninsula and the Galveston Bay. This slate of improvements, also called the Galveston Bay Storm Surge Barrier System, or the “Ike Dike,” will include components that could help defend both the bay and the Gulf in the Galveston area, according to GCPD documents. The system is part of more than a dozen projects that could line the Texas coast from Galveston to South Padre Island, according to documents from the project’s website. All the projects in their totality will cost around $34 billion, with the Galveston-area projects taking up the bulk of funds, Sunstrum said. The $500,000, which will be used to design the ecosystem restoration portions of the project, could open it up to additional funding, said Kelly Burks-Copes, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “It’s not necessarily the amount of money but … more about where it puts you in the process,” said Sunstrum, who left the GCPD on Nov. 15. Despite this, officials said they’re waiting on the federal government to help with said funding. Once that funding does come through, project documents show it could take more than a decade to build the system, which Sunstrum and others have called the largest infrastructure project in the history of the United States. Texas House Rep. Dennis Paul, R-Clear Lake, said the goal is to build it before another major storm hits. “Sitting around waiting for Washington to act after an event is not what we want,” Paul said.
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Galveston Bay Storm Surge Barrier System 1 Bolivar Roads Gate System ($19B) Designed to be open year-round, two 82-foot-tall gates spanning the channel will close during a storm surge to limit the inflow of water. Officials estimate it could reduce the surge by 30%-60%. This is the centerpiece of the project. 2 Galveston Ring Barrier System and seawall improvements ($4.2B) This is a system of floodwalls, gates, pump stations and levee sections that will protect nearly 16 square miles of Galveston. 3 Dickinson and Clear Lake gate system ($3B) This gate system will be built between Seabrook and Kemah between Clear Lake and Trinity Bay. Pumping stations will also accompany this part of the project. Ecosystem restoration ($3.1B) Meant to protect against erosion and harming local habitats, this includes environmental elements, such as beach and island restoration, building up marshes, bringing in native plants and rebuilding oyster habitats. Bolivar and West Galveston Beach and Dune system ($4.4B) This addresses beach erosion further and calls for a pair of beach and dune systems totaling more than 40 miles in length.
BOLIVAR ISLAND
GALVESTON ISLAND
GALVESTON BAY
N
146
TRINITY BAY
3A
3B
GALVESTON BAY
45
GALVESTON ISLAND
GALVESTON BAY
1
2
GULF OF MEXICO
N
GULF OF MEXICO
N
SOURCE: GULF COAST PROTECTION DISTRICT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
6640 South Shore Blvd., Suite 100 League City, TX 77573 713.852.6700 TexasBayCU.org
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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