The Hwy 36A coalition, a transportation advocacy group dedicated to development of a regional transportation infrastructure from the Brazosport area to Hempstead and beyond, met for its August luncheon on Tuesday, August 20 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Houston Energy Corridor at 11730 Katy Freeway in Houston.

Phyllis Saathoff, CEO of Port Freeport, gave an overview of projects and improvements in progress at the port. One of the largest petrochemical ports in the country, Port Freeport is the shortest deep-water port on the Texas coast, she said. The port affects over 266,000 jobs nationwide with a total economic impact of $157.3 billion and is a leading vehicle import/export facility for auto manufacturers such as Volkswagen, as well as housing the largest on-dock rice processing facility. Set to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025, the port is undergoing the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project which will not only deepen and widen the channel but will ease the “bends” in the course of the channel, improving maneuverability for vessels. The port is also investing over $35 million in rail improvements, Saathoff said. The port is also working with Del Monte, whose first vessel arrived in June 2024.

Saathoff said that new infrastructure projects planned in conjunction with TxDOT for 2024-2025 include investment of $22.6 million in the following:

· A $6.2 million project improving access to the Velasco Terminal

· A Seaport Connectivity Program, providing $3.8 million for a reconstruction project along East 5th Street and a $1.0 million Gate 4 access road widening project

· A Maritime Infrastructure Program, using` $11.6 million for Velasco Terminal Storage Area 5

Carroll G. Robinson, an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Political Science at Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, spoke on TEX-21, a 20-year-old collective, grassroots effort to improve the transportation infrastructure in the States of Texas and Oklahoma. He described the project as “expansion of the Third Coast.” According to its website, TEX-21 “aims to increase economic development throughout the state via the expansion of our Texas Gulf seaports, along with the supporting railroads, docks, cranes, and roads necessary to handle the additional movement of freight. This is in response to the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2016, which allows the giant post-Panamax ships to traverse the Canal. Unfortunately, Texas currently spends little money on its ports, preferring to leave it for the local government entities to pay for with local taxes. As a result, these large Post-Panamax Ships cannot land in Texas.”

In addition to pushing for increased efficiency in moving goods from the Port of Freeport north as far as the Dallas area, the Hwy 36A Coalition believes that the expansion of the Highway 36A corridor will provide for improved hurricane evacuation, more efficient mobility and greater economic development for the region and the state, according to its website.

The organization’s board includes Brazoria, Fort Bend and Waller Counties, in addition to the City of Katy, City of Pattison, and City of Weston Lakes, among others. Among the group’s officers are past chair Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers and at-large members Waller County Commissioner Kendric Jones and Dwayne Grigar, Director of Planning and Infrastructure for Fort Bend County Commissioner Vincent Morales.

For more information, go to 36acoalition.org.