Texas Ports Capital Program: 2010-2011 Page: 1
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INTRODUCTION
Waterborne trade is an important economic component of any coastal state. The movement of
commodities into and out of ports is a significant economic opportunity, generating jobs and
revenues. Nearly one out of five vessels over 10,000 dead weight tons calling on United
States ports are served by Texas ports. The competition between ports for this trade is
intense. Many states have created port-related funding programs to develop the facilities
necessary to attract shippers to their state. The Texas Legislature recognized the importance
of Texas ports to the state's economy and the need for Texas ports to remain competitive with
ports in other states. In 2001, the Legislature passed a bill to create Chapter 55 - Funding of
Port Security, Projects and Studies, within the Transportation Code. This chapter has three
main subjects, the Port Authority Advisory Committee, the Port Access Account Fund and the
Capital Program. The Texas Transportation Commission appoints the seven members of the
Port Authority Advisory Committee. The committee develops the Capital Program annual
report which details the various port projects and funding needs submitted by Texas public
ports. The Port Access Account Fund provides the means for the state to cost share in the
expansion and upgrading of Texas public port facilities.
As required by Chapter 55 of the Transportation Code, the Capital Program annual report has
been prepared by the Texas Department of Transportation's Port Authority Advisory
Committee to detail funding requests for port transportation and economic development
projects submitted by eligible ports, for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the
House of Representatives and the Texas Transportation Commission. While no funding has
been appropriated to the Port Access Account Fund since it was created in 2001, capital
projects totaling $558,849,501 are identified in the report. These capital projects do not
represent nor are they intended to represent a comprehensive listing of all capital needs of
Texas ports. More detailed information regarding each port and their projects can be found
within the port profiles located in Appendix A. A copy of Chapter 55 of the Transportation
Code (Funding of Port Security, Projects and Studies) is included in Appendix B.
Fifteen ports provided port profiles for the FY 2010/FY 2011 period. These ports submitted
87 projects. State funding requirements for all of these projects at a maximum cost share level
of 50 percent from the Port Access Account Fund would necessitate legislative appropriations
of $279,424,750. Very few ports could provide any details of FY 2011 capital projects at the
time this report was written. The committee included every eligible project submitted by the
ports in the report and did not prioritize any of the projects. The projects range from improving
intermodal connections to security enhancements. All are important to our ports, the economy
and the stability of the Texas transportation infrastructure.1
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Texas Ports Capital Program: 2010-2011, report, 2011~; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth637511/m1/2/?q=%222010-09-01%2F2011-08-31%22: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.