The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) Coastal Resilience Study is located along the Texas portion of the 1,100-mile man-made inland waterway, specifically within Matagorda County. The GIWW is a crucial transportation link for the petrochemical industry and coastal ports. In 2018, the Texas portion handled 80 million short tons of cargo, making up over 70% of total GIWW traffic.

The key issues along this part of the Texas coast include:  erosion of shorelines and protective barrier islands; sea level rise and storms, worsening barrier island loss; and shoaling from storm erosion, causing vessel groundings and the need for reduced cargo loads.

The project aims to restore and protect natural barriers to reduce shoaling, wave impact, and ensure the continued safe, efficient barge traffic along the GIWW. Construction of this plan will allow for a resilient navigation barrier system and provide future sites for dredge material placement.  Additional placement of operation and maintenance dredge material will provide secondary benefits of marsh creation for additional resilience.

The Authorized Plan would protect approximately 12 miles of channel, protects or restore 2,105 acres of barrier islands (over a 50-year period of analysis), and create 1,027 acres of marsh (over a 50-year period of analysis).

Latest update (06/24/2025): The Chief’s Report for the GIWW Coastal Resilience Study was signed on 2 Jun 2023 and the project was authorized for construction in WRDA 2024 (Section 1401(3) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA 2024) (P.L. 118-272)). If funding is received, it would be used to initiate and the Pre-Construction Engineering and Design (PED) phase of the project.