Texas’ Port of Corpus Christi Gets Ally in North Dakota Senator

Two South Texas congressmen turned to a senator from another oil-producing state, hoping to build the case for Washington to fund channel improvements at the Port of Corpus Christi.

U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, was in Corpus Christi on Feb. 21 at the invitation of U.S. Reps. Filemon Vela and Vicente Gonzalez. The trio met with the port's executives, then boarded a ferry boat to get a closer look at how growth is affecting the nation's fifth-largest port.

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The volume of cargo sailing in and out of the port has climbed steadily since 2009 as the Eagle Ford Shale energy play quickly began driving the Coastal Bend economy. Cargo tonnage has increased even faster in the past two years, despite a slight decline in vessel traffic.

The port has gotten approval twice from Congress to widen the ship channel from Port Aransas to the Harbor Bridge and to deepen it to 52 feet from 45 feet. The Army Corps of Engineers, however, has not awarded the estimated $350 million needed for the improvements.

"With the expansion of the Panama Canal now complete, deepening and widening the channel is critical," said Vela (D-Brownsville). "The ships and their traffic are only going to get bigger."

Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) described the nation as mired in "a period or retraction" from global trade, a trend she said was potentially harmful for Texas and North Dakota, both key energy-producing states.

"If it [infrastructure projects] helps move commodities, if it helps us access trade, that's good for us, whether you're in North Dakota or whether you're in Texas," Heitkamp said.

Exec Dir, @jodilela, w/ US Congressional delegates on a waterside tour or the Inner Harbor. @SenatorHeitkamp @RepFilemonVela @VoteVicente pic.twitter.com/I2B6nQHlR0 — Port Corpus Christi (@PoccaPort) February 22, 2017