$34B Coastal Texas Project advances as engineers approved for flood defenses

The long-stalled Coastal Texas Project took a major step forward this month after officials approved two engineering design contracts that reopened the path toward construction for one of the largest coastal resilience efforts in U.S. history.

The Gulf Coast Protection District announced Dec. 2 that it approved contracts with global engineering firms Jacobs and HDR to design key components of the Coastal Texas Project, a federally authorized initiative estimated initially at $34 billion.

Jacobs will design the project’s massive floodgate system, while HDR will lead design work on the beaches and dunes portion, according to a district news release. The approvals allow engineering work to resume after years of planning delays and funding uncertainty.

Under the agreements, no total dollar value has been set for the overall design work. Instead, individual portions of the project—referred to as tasks—will be negotiated and funded separately as the design phase progresses.

“Each task will have a specific dollar amount to be agreed upon in the future,” said Gulf Coast Protection District Communications Director Heather Betancourth.

Betancourth said the design phase could begin as early as 2026, once federal coordination and task authorizations are finalized.

The floodgate system, planned for the approximately 2-mile-wide waterway between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula, is expected to become the largest of its kind in the world once constructed. The system is designed to reduce storm surge risks to the Houston-Galveston region, home to the nation’s largest port complex and a major concentration of petrochemical facilities.

In addition to the gates, the project includes a large-scale beach and dune system intended to reinforce natural coastal barriers along the Bolivar Peninsula and West Galveston Island. These features are designed to absorb storm energy and reduce flooding during hurricanes and major storm events.

State leaders described the contract approvals as a turning point for the project, which has been discussed for more than a decade following catastrophic damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008.

“We can no longer wait to implement this long-term resiliency strategy, aimed at safeguarding the largest port and petrochemical complex in the nation,” Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in the release.

Congress formally authorized construction of the Coastal Texas Project through the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, which was signed into law in December of that year. The authorization allowed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin advancing the project toward construction, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

While construction timelines remain dependent on future funding and federal approvals, local officials said the newly approved contracts signal renewed momentum for a project viewed as critical to protecting Texas’ coast, economy and energy infrastructure.