PELICAN ISLAND SHORELINE PROTECTION PROJECT
Corpus Christi Bay, Texas

Located in Corpus Christi Bay with a northern shore fronting on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Pelican Island is a vital habitat for various colonial waterbirds. Erosion of its northern shore had undercut a bluff and threatened to produce a breach across the island. The Port of Corpus Christi Authority (PCCA) planned to use a $1M grant from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program for stabilization of the eroding northern shore of the Island against further degradation, particularly in view of an upcoming Channel Improvement Project which would allow the traffic of larger vessels past the island. Coast & Harbor Engineering, Inc. (CHE) was charged with definition of design criteria that would take into account the available CIAP grant funds, the conditions of the issued USACE permit, and precautions against interference of construction activities with avian populations during nesting season. The work required collection of the data necessary for design of a protection structure, and development and analysis of alternatives leading to a final design option and construction of that design, which was completed October 2009.

CHE Performed the following project tasks:

Existing/New Data Collection
	Compiled/reviewed existing/new data and developed appropriate design criteria.
	Analyzed wind climate, water levels, wave climate, currents, geotechnical data, bathymetric / topographic data, and vessel hydrodynamics.
Coastal Engineering & Alternatives Analysis
	3 Alternatives were evaluated: Detached breakwater, an Attached breakwater, and a Revetment structure.
	Modeling was performed using CHE’s proprietary VH-LU (Unsteady long-wave vessel hydrodynamics) model to determine the ability of the proposed alternatives to reduce velocities from a bore wave to the levels that would not cause sediment suspension and transport along the shoreline.
Final Engineering Design and Construction Oversight
	Recommended an upstream-attached breakwater combined with the addition of sediment behind the breakwater.
	Provided plans, cross-sections, construction methods, and cost estimates, and tailored the final design to optimize structure performance while minimizing construction costs.
	Provided construction period engineering support services.

September, 2009