Boggy Cut GIWW Stabilization

Summary

The Boggy Cut GIWW Stabilization project objectives are to construct an approximate 4-mile living shoreline breakwater in order to: 1) create and enhance existing oyster habitat; 2) protect rapidly eroding barrier islands; 3) dampen wind-driven waves propagated across the 4-mile fetch of the bay; 4) improve conditions in the GIWW for the safe transit of commercial and recreational vessels; 5) provide additional nesting and loafing area for several bird species; 6) increase recreational fishing opportunities; 7) serve as a source of oyster larvae to supplement larvae from existing reefs; 8) reduce dredge maintenance frequency in this section of the GIWW; and 9) reduce shoreline erosion along the Big Boggy NWR. This project would serve as the catalyst for other state and federal efforts by TxDOT and the USACE to beneficially use maintenance dredged material from adjacent reaches of the GIWW to restore the eroding barrier islands back to elevations suitable for wetland or bird habitat in future project phases.

This is the planning phase for this project and  will include the identification of the optimal living shoreline layouts and an alternatives analysis that identifies the layout that is most effective in recruiting oysters while also providing the most robust structure to dampen wave energy. Field data, including bathymetry, topography, cultural resources, magnetometer, and geotechnical sediment borings, will be collected, as needed, during the early planning and alternatives analysis phase to inform further design development.