The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Sabine-Neches Navigation District (SNND) have signed the Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) to begin the construction of the Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project (CIP).
Construction of the deepening project is expected to begin in late September, said USACE.
“The role that the Sabine-Neches Waterway plays in providing access to global energy markets, supplying the nation with energy products to meet their demands, and delivering military cargo and equipment to our men and women overseas cannot be overstated,” said SNND Executive Director Randall Reese.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to partner with the United States Army Corps of Engineers on an improvement project vital to our national interest and so very important to our local and state economies.”
The USACE received the first round of federal-share funding for the new start construction of the Sabine-Neches Waterway CIP as part of the USACE Fiscal Year 2019 Work Plan authorized by the United States Congress in November 2018.
The Sabine-Neches Waterway CIP was federally authorized under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014.
The waterway is the second longest waterway on the United States Gulf Coast and currently ranks third in the nation for total waterborne commerce. In 2017, the Sabine-Neches Waterway saw the largest percentage increase in tonnage at more than thirteen percent due to increased energy exports.