Posted on March 24, 2026
Twenty minutes by boat west of the Hitchcock, Texas Harborwalk Marina on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) sits Placement Area 63, the latest installment in the West Galveston Bay Barrier Island Project.
The new island, dubbed “Jones Island” is a long, thin stretch of land which offers barges moving commercial goods on the GIWW protection from waves and silting from Galveston Bay. The bay side is lined with hundreds of new concrete reef balls and the GIWW side is lined with rip rap.
Navigation is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) earliest Civil Works mission, dating to Federal laws in 1824 authorizing and funding the USACE to improve safety on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and several ports.
The Galveston District (SWG) plays a key role in America’s well-being by keeping waterways open for navigation and commerce. The Galveston District is directly responsible for monitoring more than 1,000 miles of channel. Dredges are constantly at work keeping vital marine arteries open for waterborne traffic carrying cargo ranging from crude oil to coffee. Other priorities include construction of jetties or breakwaters to protect harbor and inlet entrances and the locks along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at the crossing of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers.
The Texas-GIWW is the Nation’s third busiest inland waterway after number one the Mississippi River and number two the Ohio River.
The island was built with 3,700 Linear Feet (LF) of Breakwater, 7,094 Tons of Bedding Stone, 12,709 Tons of Armor Stone, 798 Goliath Reef Balls on a foundation of 5,585 Tons Bedding Stone (3,000 LF), and 400,000 Cubic Yards of dredged material.
The island spine covers 29-acres and there is an additional, 65-acres of marsh to be planted soon. The excavators in the photo are driven by Aaron Carelock, SWG heavy equipment operator, bottom left and Derrick Peeks, SWG heavy equipment operator, center left. The island was also designed to serve as wildlife habitat for fish and fowl.
U.S. Army photo by Rebecca Brown Capps.
