HARLINGEN- Renovations on the Port of Harlingen docks one and two began last week kicking off a $3.9 million U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Division Port Infrastructure Development (PIDP) Grant Project awarded in 2022.
McCarthey Building Companies, Inc., began removing the fender system this week as the first step in the renovation process. The entire renovation will include: replacement of the fender system, mooring cleats and bull rails; complete replacement of Dock one bulkhead cap, partial replacement of Dock one reinforced concrete deck and bulkhead tie-back system; repair of existing Dock one and two reinforced concrete deck and bulkhead walls, as needed; recoating of Dock one and two bulkhead walls; replacement of existing timber pile clusters and existing multi-pile mooring dolphins with steel monopiles; addition of new steel monopile dolphins; and repair / recoating of the existing multi-pile mooring dolphins to remain.
“Although the funding process started two years ago when we were awarded, this project is actually many years in the making,” Port of Harlingen Commission Chairman Alan Johnson said. “Dock infrastructure upgrades were identified as a primary planning project when our Master Plan was developed in 2019. Our business has expanded exponentially of the last five years and the upgrades need to be addressed sooner than later.”
Docks one and two, which were originally built in the 1950s, have not had any rehabilitation since the early 1990s Port Director Walker Smith said. Since then, annual tonnage, consisting of goods moving through the port including docks, has increased 245% averaging about 655,000 in the early 90s as compared to 2,261,961 last fiscal year (2024-2025).
“We have changed a lot in the last 30 years, and we continue to grow,” Smith said. “Rehabilitating our current infrastructure is just the beginning of our need to keep pace with interest and economic growth for the area.”
Renovations to the docks will be done in phases to minimize impact on current barge and commodity traffic.
The Port also has its sights on turning basin expansion to better utilize waterfront property and dock and mooring expansion, as well as creating additional fleeting areas down the channel to accommodate for the increase in barge traffic, and a rail expansion and rail yard development project creating a 100-car capacity and adding 14,500 feet of new track. The Port currently only has 3,700 feet of rail that is maxed out for usage.
The PIDP 2022 dock rehabilitation project is set to be completed in the spring of 2026. The port also has a $3.1 million Texas Department of Transportation Seaport Connectivity Program illumination and drainage project underway and is in the early stages of its second, $708,750, PIDP grant awarded in 2024 for resiliency and asset management planning.
For more information, contact Amy Lynch, Director of Public Relations and Marketing at (956) 244-7883 via call or text, or email at amy@portofharlingen.com
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