Slip Fill Project a Major Marine Engineering Feat

Slip Fill Project a Major Marine Engineering Feat

April 21, 2026

By Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves Port Director and CEO

-- Galveston Wharves reached an important milestone in our $106 million cargo infrastructure improvement work in April by filling an outdated slip. Building the retaining wall and filling the slip is a major engineering feat that will add more than six acres of cargo-handling area and generate significant revenue for the port.

The Pier 38-39 slip fill work is part of the multi-phase West Port Cargo Complex improvement project. 

Funded with port revenues and a state grant, the project includes filling one slip, paving, building a new berth and demolishing a decommissioned grain elevator. In all, it will add more than 30 acres and improve dilapidated marine infrastructure, allowing us to grow our cargo business.

I sat down recently with port Chief Engineer Jeffrey Thomas to discuss some of the details.

What is the history of the slip and why was it filled?

For more than 150 years, the port has expanded its footprint by creating land on Galveston Harbor. The slips were created in 1916 as part of a large expansion project on the west end of the port. Each slip was about 2,000 feet long, 200 feet wide and able to accommodate about four cargo vessels.

Today, the three slips are no longer used for cargo because today’s cargo ships are too large. The port’s 2019 Strategic Master Plan identified an opportunity to expand the cargo area by filling multiple slips.

What did it take to fill the slip and how much will it cost?

The first step was to wall off the slip by building a 200-foot-long retaining wall with steel sheet and pipe piling at the opening. With this completed in 2025, we began filling the slip with dredge material in February.

First, we had to find and purchase suitable soil in West Bay and obtain federal permits. We estimated that it would require 400,000 cubic yards of soil, enough to fill 133 Olympic-size swimming pools.

A pipeline was laid from the source site to the slip, and a dredge barge pumped the slurry into the slip around the clock for about three months.

As the soil settled, water that met quality standards for suspended soil particles was pumped back into the harbor. Water that did not meet those standards was pumped to our dredge placement area on Pelican Island.

Costs are not expected to exceed $34 million for the project.

What are next steps and when will the area open for cargo handling?

Today the slip is filled with sand like at the water’s edge at the beach. While we can walk or drive on sections now, it will take time before the soil settles and consolidates enough to handle cargo. We expect to pave the area with asphalt for cargo handling in less than two years, then pave it with concrete in the next 5-10 years, depending on the settlement rate.

Photo courtesy Callan Marine.