Texas Border Business
HARLINGEN, Texas – Construction on $7 million in infrastructure projects are in full swing at the Port of Harlingen. In August, projects for both a $3.1 million Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Seaport Connectivity Program (SCP) and a $3.9 million U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Division (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) and grant broke ground.
The TxDOT SCP grant funded 75 percent of the construction of 100 solar-powered roadway lighting throughout the Port of Harlingen and enhanced drainage on the Northern loop of Port Road to help with flooding mitigation and prevent both land and roadway erosion. The lighting portion has been completed, and cement structures are currently being placed in the drainage area. Total project completion and a ribbon cutting event are scheduled for late February.
“Both of these upgrade needs have been long needed,” Port Director Walker Smith said. “Having lighting means safer roads in and around the Port not only for operators who work around the clock, but also for regular traffic that moves through and around our roads in the surrounding communities. We are excited to be also completing our drainage, which will vastly improve storm run-off and potential flooding for the area.”
The PIDP dock renovation project is still on pace to be completed in Spring 2026. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has started installing new sheet pilings and fenders and reinforced concrete deck and bulkhead walls to Docks 1 and 2.
“Both docks were built in the 1950s and it has been about 30 years since we have had any rehabilitation done to either dock,” Smith said. “As our tonnage has increased more than 240 percent in the last eight, or so, years, that means more traffic and barges that bring wear and tear to our dock. This will ensure our main docks will be stronger for more goods to move across them for years to come.”
