Caption: Aerial view of Houston Ship Channel.

A professional services contract of $5.5 million was approved by the Port Commission and awarded to TC&B/GBA, a joint venture of Turner Collie and Braden, Inc. and Gahagan & Bryant Associates, Inc. at the September Port Commission meeting.

The ship channel expansion work includes critical-path professional services for engineering, design and project coordination. The widening and deepening of the ship channel will allow for economic growth to continue. Given significant demand from industry to take advantage of current economic conditions and facilitate future growth, the Port of Houston Authority has proposed an expedited schedule whereby dredging could begin by 2021 and the project be completed in 2024.

The Houston Ship Channel is the busiest deep-draft international trade waterway in the nation, and improvements are needed for safety and the future growth of regional and national commerce.