Posted on March 8, 2023
The multi-billion-dollar project is a series of locks, sea gates, levees, walls and dunes meant to prevent storm-surge flooding for the millions of people who live along Galveston Bay from the island and Houston.
Army Corps officials said they expected federal money to begin flowing as soon as this spring for what is among the most monumentally important projects the 180-year-old institution has ever undertaken.
“The Coastal Texas Project is designed to serve vulnerable populations, preserve the environment and protect coastal infrastructure, and we are equally excited that it will create hundreds of stable employment opportunities, public and private, across the Gulf for years to come,” Maj. Ian P. O’Sullivan, deputy commander of Galveston District Mega Projects Division, said.
“The Coastal Texas Project is going to be one of the largest projects in the history of the Corps of Engineers,” he said.
“This means that we will need to continue to recruit the world’s best engineers and scientists to make it happen, but we are going to need many other experts across many fields in our growing family.”
Although the corps consistently hires people to support its portfolio of missions, it’s now positioning the Galveston District to grow and create hundreds of federal and contract jobs resulting from the Coastal Texas Project, O’Sullivan said.
Once the federal government begins appropriating money, and the project begins in earnest, the corps will add 500 jobs to its island office, Neil Murphy, chief of public affairs, said.
City officials see an economic boon in that recruitment.
“The hiring of up to 500 employees is a giant economic boost for the city,” Mayor Craig Brown said. “These are individuals who will be here every day and living on the island.
“It’s exciting to know that with the hiring of these individuals, the Coastal Spine is now not just a thought, but more of a reality.”
“Each one will bring an expertise that will assist in developing a system that protects industry, as well as our residents.”
Army Corps officials expect to fill at least 100 jobs soon after the project is appropriated and funded, and many more each year to follow, Murphy said.
“Due to our fast-growing mission set and to achieve our strategic goals and objectives, we plan to swiftly hire and retain the highest-caliber talent and attract the most diversified and qualified workforce,” he said.
Recruiters are engaging people at job fairs to tell them about opportunities and the fact the Army Corps will begin hosting recruiting events this summer, as they expect Congress to begin appropriating funds this spring, Murphy said.
