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Great Lakes wins $92M contract to expand Texas ship channel

Oak Brook-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. has won a $92 million contract to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in Texas to accommodate larger oil tankers.

The federal government and the Port of Corpus Christi are funding the overall $360 million ship channel project.

Plans include expanding the Corpus Christi Ship Channel from the Gulf of Mexico to Harbor Island. The depth would increase from 47 feet to 54 feet from the jetties at the entrance to the channel.

The project comes amid replacement of the Harbor Bridge, which opened in 1959 and has a 138-foot clearance, with a larger span.

Dredging to deepen the entrance channel will commence during the second quarter of 2019 with completion expected in early 2020, Great Lakes officials said. The overall ship channel deepening effort will be comprised of multiple phases, expected to be competitively bid and worked over the next five years.

The total estimated contract value of these projects is about $360 million.

The Port of Corpus Christi is the largest crude export port in the United States and processes about 100 million tons each year. The deepening project will be a major step toward the United States' objective of becoming a net exporter of its energy production.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report

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