$34 billion authorized for Ike Dike, construction aimed to protect Texas Coast from hurricane impact

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act, providing nearly $858 billion in military funding.

A part of that, authorizing a $34 billion proposal to build a system that would prevent major storm surges along the Texas coast.

"This was a huge step in the authorization, a critical one in the process," Brian D. Freedman, with the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, said.

Freedman, president of the organization champions Friday's move, when Biden authorized a $34 billion proposal that would include building a storm surge protection system.

"So, now the focus is on the appropriation side of the equation and making sure that there's funding to continue to move forward," Freedman said.

He says it's an important step in the fight to prevent major disasters from happening like the one we went through back in 2008.

"It was roughly $30 billion in damage in a hurricane, level 3, and was the start of the Ike Dike concept," Freedman said.

According to a Texas A&M professor, the concept would be a solution to protecting the Galveston-Houston area from a storm surge disaster.

"The Houston area is home to one of the world's largest petrochemical complexes, a huge portion of the military's jet aviation fuel, commercial aviation fuel, petrochemical products that go into things we use every day across the country," Freedman explained.

Freedman says a disruption from a future hurricane like Hurricane Ike could have a massive impact on the economy and region and so safeguarding a valuable asset like the oil industry is key to the region's development.

"This project would go a long way in making sure those industries are safe in the event of another hurricane and can continue to operate," he said.

Leaders like U.S. Senator John Cornyn, who introduced the legislation to approve the project, celebrated.

"The Coastal Spine will provide the critical infrastructure needed to protect our coastal communities and the industries that fuel our state and national economy," Cornyn said.

And because of the authorization, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it can now move forward with planning on this major project that will take years to complete.