Texas โIke Dikeโ coastal barrier project could cost $57 billion with inflation, Army Corps says
The latest figure is 68% higher than an earlier estimate of $34 billion, and itโs unclear when โ or whether โ Congress will appropriate the money to build the massive system of gates intended to protect the Houston region from storm surge.
Close call with storm renews debate over Houston barrier
Bill Merrell, a professor in the Marine Sciences Department at Texas A&M University at Galveston and a former president of the school, sits along Galveston Bay as he talks about the Ike Dike project Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Galveston, Texas. The Ike Dike is a coastal barrier that, when completed, would protect the Houston-Galveston region including Galveston Bay from hurricane storm surge. The project was conceived by Merrell in response to the extensive surge damage caused by Hurricane Ike in September of 2008. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Close call with storm renews debate over Houston barrier
The Ike Dike is a coastal barrier that, when completed, would protect the Houston-Galveston region including Galveston Bay from hurricane storm surge. Now the close call has renewed a debate about whether the Houston area should build a massive and expensive barrier to protect against storm surge. Galveston Bay is healthy, and fish and other animals thrive there because water circulates in and out of the gulf, said Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Foundation environmental group. โNo hurricane storm surge barrier will ever protect us from 150 mph winds. No hurricane storm surge barrier will ever protect us from rain,โ Stokes said.
Watch beach cams in Galveston as Hurricane Laura approaches
Texas Hurricane Laura is approaching the coast and is expected to make landfall sometime around late Wednesday or very early Thursday. The National Hurricane Center is currently forecasting that the Category 1 hurricane will eventually strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane, making landfall anywhere from Galveston Bay to Vermilion Bay in Louisiana. Laura is the 12th-named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season and is not expected to bring much rain to San Antonio. However, the hurricane could bring widespread flooding to the coastal area and a mandatory evacuation has been issued for the city of Galveston. You can keep an eye on the Galveston area with the following beach cams in the area:Related articles: