Navigating Towards a Wider and Deeper Houston Ship Channel

Since 2010, the Port of Houston Authority has been planning the next major channel improvements working with Congress and the Corps of Engineers. During that time, the growth in the size of vessels increasingly needing to transit the waterway along with the growth in the exports, imports, domestic manufacturing and energy products are creating significant demand and pressure on the Houston Ship Channel and regional infrastructure, and driving the need to make improvements to this nationally significant waterway.

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Benefits

The success of this waterway is the result of a legacy of leadership and commitment in supporting and funding channel improvements over time. Through a tradition of collaboration and investment, the Houston Ship Channel has become the nation’s most active waterway, with more vessel traffic than the next three largest U.S. ports combined – Los Angeles, Long Beach, and New York/New Jersey.

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3.37 Million jobs sustained
$906 Billion in annual economic value
$62.8 Billion in tax revenue

Ship Channel History

For more than a century, commerce has moved along this waterway, connecting the region to the global marketplace, and as our economy has expanded, we continue to improve the channel, making sure it remains deep enough and wide enough to safely and efficiently accommodate this growth.

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Houston is the energy capital of the world. We have oil. We have natural gas. We have natural gas liquids. We have refining. We have petrochemicals. We have pipelines. We have docks, and last but not least we have the Houston Ship Channel. In many respects, the Houston Ship Channel is now just as important as the Strait of Hormuz.

Jim TeagueCEO/President of Enterprise Products Partners

The Port of Houston is the crown jewel of the Texas economy.

Ted CruzU.S. Senator

It is a top priority to ensure that the Port has the resources and tools it needs to continue driving Houston’s economy, which is why I’m pleased to serve on committee in Congress that will make that possible, especially the effort to widen and deepen the Port to accommodate our increased and changing traffic.

Lizzie FletcherU.S. House Representative

We see the Port of Houston as a place where infrastructure, trade, good jobs, protecting the environment and workforce development all come together.

Nancy PelosiU.S. Speaker of the House

Phenomenal project for the nation – significant nexus with the nation’s trade, energy and defense accounts.

Lt. General Todd T. SemoniteChief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers