Posted on June 4, 2025
The Galveston (Texas) District Mega Projects Division (MPD) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) sounds like something out of a comic book. But the district is taking on the serious, real-world task of rolling out the USACE’s biggest, most ambitious mission to date: the $34 billion Coastal Texas Project (CTX). The storm risk management and ecosystem restoration project was signed into law in December 2022, and appropriated in May 2024, paving the way for phase one implementation.
“This is the largest civil works project ever undertaken in the Corps’ 250-year history — both geographically and financially,” says Kelly Burks-Copes, a project manager for Galveston MPD. “To put its scale into perspective, the project is six times the Corps’ annual operating budget. It represents the largest single investment recommendation to Congress in USACE history.”
The six-year, $20 million Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Feasibility Study laid the groundwork to reduce risks to public health and the economy, restore ecosystems and advance coastal resiliency. During the period of public comment, the USACE engaged with multiple stakeholders in government, private business, the nonprofit sector and local communities, addressing concerns and incorporating feedback into the design plans.
“The footprint for CTX is massive, protecting 3,300 miles of U.S. coastline, 24% of the state’s population and nearly 16% of U.S. cargo handled through Houston, the nation’s busiest port,” Burks-Copes says.
The labor force required to bring the project to completion is equally enormous.
“Our ‘back of the envelope estimates’ are that 500 federal workers and an additional 8,000 secondary and tertiary jobs will be created in the region over the next 20 years, with heavy emphasis on construction workers, environmental specialists, engineers and architectural experts,” Burks-Copes says.
The Triggering Storms
As is often the case, the roots of this project lie in weather events.
Hurricane Ike, which rammed the Texas Coast in 2008 and caused more than $43 billion in damage with a deadly storm surge that killed 112 people, spurred action. 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, second only to Katrina in devastation, was another staggering blow to the Texas Gulf Coast.
The vulnerable Texas Coast is of vital importance to the U.S. economy and security, home to extensive oil and gas drilling and associated industries and 30% of U.S. refining capacity. Storms of these magnitudes damage oil platforms, storage tanks, pipelines and refineries, which causes gas shortages and drives up fuel prices across the country. So while the project’s $34 billion price tag may seem high, Burks-Copes says the return on investment is even greater.
“What happens in Houston has an economic domino effect on the rest of the country. We will be prepared for a 500-year, 22-foot high storm surge event. For every dollar we spend, we save two dollars in hurricane recovery,” she says.
The USACE is working in partnership with state sponsors the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD), created in 2021 by the 87th Texas Legislature. The GCPD will lead the design, construction and subsequent operation of the infrastructure that mitigates damages from weather events.
Burks-Copes expects the Trump administration to continue support of the project. “The economic health of our nation is tied to Houston. We are the heart and soul of energy production,” she says.
Multiple Lines of Defense
The Coastal Texas Project has two goals: resiliency and restoration.
The study advances a “multiple lines of defense” strategy to design a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly solution that will reduce storm risks to coastal communities in five counties, while restoring important wildlife habitat.
The first objective, dubbed “Gulf Defenses,” is to keep the storm surge in the Gulf of America, formerly known as Gulf of Mexico, with a combination of surge gates — the Bolivar Roads Gate System, an approximately 2-mile-long closure structure between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula.
But a combination of water from Galveston Bay and Gulf surge could overtop front-line defenses, so a second fortification, the “Bay Defenses,” includes a ring barrier system on Galveston Island, surge gates and pumping stations on the mainland and nonstructural measures such as flood-proofing and the raising of buildings on the mainland.
Additionally, about 6,600 acres of degraded coastal land will be improved to provide a third buffer against coastal storms and erosion processes. Specific measures include restoring 114 miles of breakwaters and 12.32 miles of oyster reef. Communities affected include Port Arthur, Freeport, Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula, residential areas along Dickinson Bayou and residential areas and the industrial corridor located along the Houston Ship Channel.
“It’s not just bugs and bunnies that people think of when we talk about restoring habitat,” says Toniette Addison, MPD chief. “The Texas Coast has suffered massive erosion, so expanding the barrier islands and fortifying marshlands with dredged material is critical. Smaller ships don’t do well in higher water and their wake is tearing up shoreline. And ships are only going to get bigger.”
Both travelers and coastal residents will see improvements to popular Texas beaches and dunes, which will be a boon to tourism. Habitat restoration will preserve fish and wildlife populations that draw outdoors enthusiasts from near and far. Future plans call for a public visitor center to be built.
The CTX is also monumental in another way. Burks-Copes and Addison are pioneers of sorts as the only two female leaders in the Mega Projects Division. Burks-Copes, who is retiring in December 2025, says the CTX is her legacy.
“But the CTX is a multigenerational project,” Addison emphasizes. “We’re looking toward younger USACE staff, middle, high school and college STEM students. They will be the backbone of how CTX innovates, moves forward and operates in the future.”
