The Northern Area Offices area of responsibility includes 23 Texas counties and two Louisiana parishes, encompasses over 165 miles of coastline from the Texas – Louisiana border to Matagorda Bay and extends over 100 miles inland.  The Northern Area Offices consist of the Galveston Resident Office, Houston Resident Office and the Port Arthur Resident Office.

Our primary mission includes providing construction management, quality assurance, hydrographic and land surveying technical expertise in support of navigation and construction projects for over 500 miles of federally authorized navigation channels.  We monitor and maintain approximately 175 miles of deep draft channels. Our navigation mission also includes monitoring and maintaining approximately 325 miles of shallow draft channels including the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) from Port Arthur to Matagorda Bay.

Staff works in conjunction with local sponsors and customers to provide quality projects and services that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of marine-based commerce, flood risk reduction, and military construction projects, with particular emphasis on quality, safety and the environment.

Located in the Jadwin Building on Galveston Island, the Houston Resident Office primary mission focus includes providing construction management and quality assurance technical expertise in support of navigation projects for over 130 miles of federally authorized channels, as well as flood risk reduction and military Reserve construction projects.

We are responsible for contract administration of navigation projects within the Galveston Bay complex. Contracts typically involve dredging navigation channels to remove accumulated shoals, improving capacity of confined dredged material placement areas and the beneficial use of dredged material to create salt-water marshes. We monitor and maintain over 50 miles of deep draft channels including the Houston Ship Channel, Bayport Channel and Barbour’s Terminal Channel. Our navigation mission also includes monitoring and maintaining over 80 miles of shallow draft channels including Cedar Bayou, Greens Bayou and other Houston Ship Channel tributaries. 

Our mission also includes construction management of flood risk reduction projects including 19.3 miles of Sims Bayou channel improvements and Addicks and Barker reservoir construction and maintenance projects. We also provide engineering and quality assurance services for military projects, including the recently completed Armed Forces Reserve Center at Ellington, as well as the ongoing construction of the Woodlands Army Reserve Center in Houston.