About
Providing waterway transportation capabilities to create economic opportunity in the region.The Port turning basin area is situated on over 2,000 acres and is served by rail and four-lane divided highways. POV Dock No. 1 is a 350-foot transit dock. A new lighting system allows for 24-hour cargo operations. There are 20 mooring sites, 17,000 square feet of shed space and over 3 acres of improved ground storage areas available. A 7,300 square foot office and storage building is ready for occupancy. POV Dock No. 2 is an 800-foot string pier available for docking sites and barge repair. Major products transferred are liquid and dry bulk and general and project cargos. The Port of Victoria’s Mission is to provide waterway transportation capabilities to create economic opportunity in the region.
The Port has recently formed an Industrial Park with multi-modal access. The Park is located within a Foreign Trade Zone and a Texas Enterprise Zone. The Port has the ability to “build to suit” and tailor a package specific to customer facility and transportation needs.
A major cost savings was realized by including the basin expansion with the completion of the widening and deepening of the Canal. In addition to almost doubling the size of the harbor, a 400 foot x 150-foot barge slip was added. These enhancements will offer our customers greater safety and efficiency.
The Port of Victoria is a center for the chemical, construction and steel fabrication and agribusiness industries offering access to all transportation modes.
Administration
The Texas Water Code allows for the creation of navigation districts that are enabled with the powers to enhance the navigable waterways within their jurisdiction. The Victoria County Navigation District encompasses the entire county of Victoria and its waterways. The Port of Victoria was created to formally organize the management of its ports and waterways.
Total Barges Inbound: 2,870
Total Barges Outbound: 2,841
Total Number of Barges: 5,711
Chemicals: 2,045,878 s/t
Farm Products*: 477,789 s/t
*including fertilizer (liquid and dry), grains, rice and cotton
Sand and Gravel: 2,764,532 s/t
Total Tonnage: 5,288,199 s/t
Rail Traffic: 228,205 bbls crude
Commissioners
Victoria County Navigation District
Robby Burdge – Chairman
Elton Calhoun – Vice-Chairman
Don Pozzi – Secretary
Clayton Johnson – Commisioner
Robert Loeb – Commissioner
History
Victoria, Where the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was Born
Victoria’s port and canal occupy a unique place in the history of shallow draft transportation. In 1905, C.S. E. Holland, President of the Victoria Business Men’s Association, called for a meeting of interested parties from Texas and Louisiana. The purpose was to discuss construction of a waterway along their coasts to facilitate the movement of trade goods. This was the birth of what we now know as the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association. This is a waterway that stretches from Brownsville, Texas, along a 1,300-mile route to the Apalachee Bay on the Florida coast. A waterway that became part of the 26,000-mile inland network that is the very backbone of the barge distribution system in the United States.
Victoria took its place as a port in 1968 when the 35-mile Barge Canal to Victoria was completed to a navigable depth of 9 feet and a width of 100 feet. In 1995, work began to widen and deepen the canal to correspond to the GIWW parameters of 12 feet in depth and 125 feet in width. The last leg of this project was completed in March of 2002.
Timeline
On August 8, 1905, a meeting called by Victoria businessmen was held at Hauschild’s Opera House. From this meeting of Texas and Louisiana businessmen came the idea for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association.
1905
1923
1926
1939-1945
1945
1946
1947
1949
1951
1953
1965
1968
1976
1984
1988
1994
1995
2002
1905
Formation of the Interstate Inland Waterway League of Louisiana and the Texas Canal Association. Construction of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway begins.
1923
U. S. Congress passes a bill authorizing a special survey for the canal. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers recommends the canal be constructed between New Orleans and Corpus Christi.
1926
First portion of the GIWW is complete – between Sabine River and New Orleans , LA.
1939 - 1945
The War Years. WWII reveals the importance of inland, protected water transportation to the Nation’s defense.
1945
Original construction of the channel authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1945.
1946
July 8th, West Side Calhoun County Navigation District formed and approved $125,000 Bond Issue for the building of the barge canal. December 16th, Victoria County Navigation District formed.
1947
Voters in Victoria County approve a $500,000 Bond Issue to share the cost to build the barge canal.
1949
Formal completion of the Waterway. Victorian J. M. Pickering cut the ribbon for the opening of the section of the GIWW between Corpus Christi and Brownsville .
1951
Construction of the Barge Canal to Victoria begins.
1953
First 14-mile leg of the Canal to Victoria is completed. Opening ceremony held at the Union Carbide docks.
1965
Barge Canal and Turning Basin is completed.
1968
Dock at Turning Basin in Victoria complete.
1976
Petition to widen and deepen the Canal.
1984
Project submitted for Congressional approval.
1988
Water Resources Development Act of 1988 authorizes widening and deepening of the Victoria Barge Canal.
1994
The Project Cooperation Agreement between the Department of the Army, Victoria County Navigation District and West Side Calhoun County Navigation District for the enlargement of the Channel was entered into on November 17.
1995
Construction begins to widen and deepen the Channel to Victoria with the awarding of the first construction contract in September.
2002
Widening and Deepening of Victoria Barge Canal completed. Turning Basin at Victoria expanded and barge slip added.