Overview
The channel is a widened and deepened natural watercourse created by dredging the Buffalo Bayou and the Galveston Bay. Major products, such as petrochemicals and Midwestern grain, are transported in bulk together with general cargo. The original watercourse for the channel, Buffalo Bayou, has its headwaters 30 miles (48 km) to the west of the city of Houston. Today the navigational head of the channel, the most upstream point to which general cargo ships can travel, is at Turning Basin in east Houston.
The Ship Channel has numerous terminals and berthing locations along Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. The major public terminals include Turning Basin, Barbours Cut, and Bayport. There are many private docks as well, including the ExxonMobil Baytown Complex and the Deer Park Complex.
The Houston Ship Channel has been periodically widened and deepened to accommodate ever-larger ships, and is currently 530 feet (160 m) wide by 45 feet (14 m) deep by 50 miles (80 km) long. The islands in the ship channel are part of the ongoing widening and deepening project. The islands are formed from soil pulled up by dredging, and the salt marshes and bird islands are part of the Houston Port Authority's beneficial use and environmental mitigation responsibilities.
The channel has five vehicular crossings. They are the Washburn Tunnel, the Sidney Sherman Bridge, the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge and popularly known as the Beltway 8 Bridge; the Fred Hartman Bridge connecting La Porte and Baytown, Texas; and the Lynchburg Ferry.
Read more about this topic: Houston Ship Channel