MARITIME DIVISION Overview to the Texas Transportation Commission - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

MARITIME DIVISION

Overview to the Texas Transportation Commission

October 25, 2018

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

Overview

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• TxDOT’s Maritime Division (MRD) promotes the development and intermodal

connectivity of Texas ports, waterways, and marine infrastructure and operations.

• MRD also serves as a resource to

increase the use of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and promote waterborne transportation to maintain Texas’ economic competitiveness.

• The GIWW is a 1,100-mile

waterway that connects ports along the Gulf of Mexico from St. Marks, Florida to Brownsville, Texas.

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

Benefits of the GIWW to Texas

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• Along the Texas coastline,

the GIWW spans 379 miles from the Sabine River to Brownsville.

• Though only one-third the

total distance of the GIWW, the Texas portion handled 72 percent of all GIWW traffic in 2016.

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Legislative Report - Requirements

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• Texas Transportation Code, §51.007 requires the Commission to continually

evaluate the impact of the GIWW on the state.

• The evaluation shall include:

– An assessment of the importance of the GIWW including identification of its direct and indirect beneficiaries; – Identification of principal problems and possible solutions to those problems that include estimated cost, economic benefits, and environmental effects; – An evaluation of the need for significant modifications to the GIWW; and – Specific recommendations for legislative action that the Commission believes are in the best interest of the state.

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Legislative Report – Recommendations

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• Continue appropriations in support of the GIWW-T maintenance strategy – These

funds are used to fulfill the state’s duties as non-federal sponsor of the GIWW-T. The duties include sustaining existing placement areas, acquiring real estate for new placement areas as needed, and leveraging opportunities for the beneficial use of dredged material.

• Support additional federal funding to maintain authorized dimensions of the

GIWW-T – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has not received adequate O&M funding to maintain the GIWW-T as designed. On average, the Corps has been appropriated less than half of what is needed annually (approx. $56.7 million). As a result, the Corps has been unable to maintain the waterway to its authorized depth.

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

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Legislative Rider Project Authorizations

Rider 45 – FY 2018-2019 Biennium (Cameron County)

Rider 45 authorizes the use of up to $20 million per year in the 2018-2019 biennium from the Texas Mobility Fund, or any other source, for port access improvement projects selected by the PAAC.

• After approval of projects at the March Commission meeting, $5.4 million

remained in authorized FY 2019 funds.

• The PAAC issued an additional Call for Projects in July 2018.
• The PAAC selected a $1.5 million project at the Port of Brownsville to construct a

direct connector road from SH 4 to Ostos Road.

• MRD is seeking Commission approval of grant funding for this project.

Maritime Division October 25, 2018

Legislative Rider Project Authorizations - Continued

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Rider 48 – FY 2016-2017 Biennium (Galveston County)

Rider 48 authorized the use of up to $20 million from the Texas Mobility Fund for port capital improvement projects selected by the Port Authority Advisory Committee.

• A Port of Galveston project was approved in 2016 as a state-let project with

both on- and off-system components. The on-system component has since been removed from the project, and the project is now entirely off-system.

• Funding for the project must now be delivered as a grant for local-let.
• MRD is seeking Commission approval of a $1.08 million grant for the Port of

Galveston to let the project.