Dredging work not expected to impact Galveston ferry wait times over 4th of July

GALVESTON, Texas – According to officials with the Texas Department of Transportation, crews working to dredge the area around the Port Bolivar ferry landing will be working on the 4th of July. However, this work is not expected to impact wait times or boat operations over the holiday weekend.

“We’re working to make sure we’re not impacting our operations,” said Danny Perez with TXDOT.

The US Army Corps of Engineers began this dredging cycle the third week of May in partnership with TXDOT and Callan Marine. Perez said the goal is to make sure the area around the Bolivar harbor has a depth of 16-18 feet. However, a second dredging project is planned to start in October with the goal of bringing the depth to between 22-24 feet.

Perez said this type of work has to be done annually to make sure the waterway remains navigable. During Memorial Day weekend, one of TXDOT’s ferries, the Robert C. Lanier, hit a sandbar and had to be nudged into deeper water by a tug boat.

Perez said this is the first and only time this has happened, but underscores the need for annual dredging. This map shows the location of current dredging work and where the removed sediment will be deposited.

Map of current dredging area (Google Earth)

“We’re not just a ferry that carries cars,” said Perez. “We carry 18-wheelers, we carry heavy vehicles, so they can be weighted down. We want to make sure the channel is clear.”

Perez said 99,108.5 CY of sediment have been removed during this cycle. Crews are working to remove another 40,891.5 CY of sediment.

A TXDOT report to the 89th Texas Legislature, reported an area near the Bolivar harbor, known as a the Bolivar Flare, is considered one of the worst spots along the Gulf Coast Intercoastal Waterway for “shoaling;” which is defined as a build up of sediment that reduces depth and impedes navigation.

A 2017 US Army Corps of Engineers’ report explains annual dredging is needed because the area sits near the intersection of the Houston Ship Channel, Texas City Ship Channel, the intercoastal waterway and Galveston Ship Channel.

Perez said dredging the harbor area a second time this year is needed because sediment accumulation is happening faster than in year’s past. Perez 80,000 CY of sediment are pouring into the area each month due environmental factors and increased storms in the Gulf.

A schedule of ferry operations, wait times and web cams for both the Galveston and Bolivar landings can be found on TXDOT’s website.

TXDOT also updates ferry operations on its’ “X” and Instagram accounts.


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