Port Houston Blog

The Houston Ship Channel Expansion - Project 11 has been authorized to begin construction with WRDA passing in December 2020 and a "new start" designation in January 2021. As the advocate and local sponsor of this crucial federal waterway, Port Houston is partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as private industry on a plan to expand the channel at an accelerated pace. With the help of those partners, Port Houston will begin the work this year, making the channel safer and more efficient and ensuring this waterway will continue to remain the national economic treasure it is today.

As the nation’s largest tonnage and one of the busiest ports, there has always been a need to make improvements and keep logistics efficient. Being open for business more than 100 years also comes with trouble spots along the way. However, Port Houston is focused on making infrastructure improvements before any serious problems come under fire. In particular, the area of freight mobility has grown tremendously over the years and this is largely due to the Port Houston teams that make these projects possible.

You’ve probably heard Houston talked about as “the energy capital of the world,” and it truly is. But you probably didn’t know that there are many Houston companies, like Port Houston, that are deeply focused on improving the environment and providing continued sustainability for the future. Port Houston is constantly finding new ways of doing things and implementing changes now that will carry the organization into the future. One of our strategic priorities is to be an environmental leader by implementing ambitious programs and goals to drive this forward.

More online shopping trends mean more goods moving across Port Houston’s docks, and the need for additional space to store that cargo. Thus, we are seeing distribution centers in the Port Houston region being built to keep up with demand.

Since 1914, Port Houston and the Houston Ship Channel have undergone major renovations one after another. Although the widening of the Houston Ship Channel (Project 11) is our current major project, it’s not the only project going on. At Bayport and Barbours Cut Container Terminals the main roads are undergoing construction to improve freight transportation.

Days before Hurricane Laura stormed the coast between Louisiana and Texas with sustained winds up to 150 miles per hour, Port Houston maintenance workers busily went about the task of protecting assets and securing facilities from the much-anticipated stiff winds. This is necessary anytime a storm as ferocious as Hurricane Laura enters the gulf and threatens the gulf coast’s biggest container facility. While Hurricane Laura spared Houston this time, this was a big wake-up call for what may come.

Port Houston is betting a new “Waste Shark” drone can take a serious bite out of the huge problem of litter in the Houston Ship Channel. Port Houston will be the first port with a Waste Shark in the entire United States.

Port Houston Fire Chief William Buck has been reappointed to a three-year term to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Hazardous Materials Committee.