In efforts to develop a major port on Galveston Bay, Texas City capitalists dug a ship channel directly through and across the bay's natural water line despite engineers' advice, and currents then carried silt into the man-made channel, requiring constant dredging to keep it navigable. To solve this problem, the Texas City dike was designed to divert silt by deflecting the waters of Galveston Bay out to the Gulf of Mexico. With the help of civic leader Hugh B. Moore, funds for construction were authorized in the 1913 U.S. Rivers and Harbors Act, and under the direction of William Moore and Lieutenant Colonel C. S. Riche of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Galveston District, the dike was completed in 1915 at a cost of $1.4 million. Originally 28,200 feet long, it was extended to its current 5.4 miles in 1934. Protected from the bay's tidal action and excessive silting, the Texas City channel became a busy shipping lane that brought significant economic growth to the community, and in the latter part of the 20th century the dike also became a prime recreational site with fishing piers, bait shops, boat launch sites, refreshment stands, and a marina.

Photo: Gregory Walker

Photo: Gregory Walker

Texas City, Texas · USA