$19.5M Galveston beach expansion to begin this fall

GALVESTON - Galveston’s beaches will soon become bigger and better. The Galveston Park Board – in partnership with the City of Galveston and Texas General Land Office – will begin a $19.5 million beach expansion and nourishment project this fall that will widen existing Seawall beaches between 12th and 61st streets.

This four-mile stretch of beach will be replenished with up to 1 million cubic yards of beach quality sand dredged from the Galveston Ship Channel. The project, which will widen these beaches by 100 to 150 feet, is expected to be complete by spring 2017.

“This beach expansion project continues our mission to increase recreation areas for our visitors and to protect the seawall – and the island – from erosion and future storm surges,” said Park Board Executive Director Kelly de Schaun.

The project will be completed using a “pipeline dredge” process that requires a 36-inch pipe to remain on the beach while crews are active.  Pipes and pumps will move sand from the Galveston Ship Channel at Big Reef (east of East Beach) to the project site. The staging area for the project will be located at Stewart Beach, where construction equipment, pipes and pumps will be housed.

Galveston’s beaches will remain open during the project. Construction pipes will be covered by special ramps to allow public access to the coast.

This project will mark the third sand nourishment project to be undertaken in Galveston in recent months. In May 2015, more than a half-mile of beach was added west of the Seawall at Dellanera RV Park. In November 2015, a second project added more than 15 blocks of brand new beach along the Seawall west of 61st Street.
When combined, the three projects represent more than $44 million invested in the Galveston coastline.

ABOUT GALVESTON ISLAND

Galveston Island is a historic beach town located on the Gulf of Mexico just 50 miles from Houston. The island is best known as a vacation destination, offering 32 miles of beaches, a variety of family attractions, Texas’ premier cruise port and one of the largest and well-preserved concentrations of Victorian architecture in the country. The Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau is a non-profit government agency and the official destination