U.S. Army Corps moves Freeport levee project to closeout after Velasco Drainage District reduces scope

Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Velasco Drainage District updated the City Council on the status of the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management (SDG) project and said the Freeport segment will be placed into closeout after the non-federal sponsor requested a scope reduction.

"The project has currently been on a suspension status since last April of 2024, and we are moving to finalize and closing the project," said Eddie Rigoyan, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps, Galveston District. Rigoyan said the project originally authorized under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 allotted approximately $704,000,000 to the Freeport project and included raising about 13.1 miles of levee, constructing about 5.5 miles of flood wall and installing a navigable gate on the Dow Barge Canal. During design and stakeholder coordination, Corps staff…