The Houston Ship Channel will be expanded under the 2020 Water Resources Development Act passed this week by Congress.
Ranked as the #1 U.S. Port the channel is the busiest waterway in the nation average 50 deep-draft vessel transits a day.
“Today’s announcement is BIG. The authorization to widen and deepen the Houston Ship Channel is BIG for our region, the state of Texas, and our nation,” said Executive Director Roger Guenther. “It is BIG for economic prosperity and growth of industry that is served by the busiest waterway in the country.”
The Houston Ship Channel and the public and private terminals along it moved nearly 285 million tons of cargo in 2019. That was almost 47 million tons more than any other U.S. port and a 6% increase compared to the previous year. Planning for the deepening and widening of the Houston Ship Channel has been Port Houston’s top priority for nearly a decade.
The Houston Ship Channel expansion, known as Project 11, will widen and deepen the channel for safer and more efficient navigation of vessels calling the port.
The Houston Ship Channel supports 3.2 million jobs in the nation, with 1.35 million in Texas, and nationwide economic impact totaling $802 billion.
Source: BusinessWire