TxDOT Selects LAN to Improve Ferry Operations and Shoreside Facilities at Galveston-Port Bolivar

By Jay Srinivasan

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has selected planning, engineering and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) to enhance ferry operations and shoreside facilities at Galveston-Port Bolivar during the next five years.

TxDOT operates two ferry systems that provide a shorter route than existing roads for travel from Port Aransas to Harbor Island and from Galveston to Port Bolivar. The ferry services are a continuation of the state roadway system that offer motorists an alternate route in the Galveston and Port Aransas communities. The ferries also serve as an alternative hurricane route for residents and visitors. The two ferry systems operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and carry more than 9 million passengers annually.

Over the years, TxDOT has made improvements to its infrastructure at these two facilities keeping in mind existing components at the ferry landings, anticipated traffic growth, ship channel improvements and short- and long-range maintenance and expenditures. This five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract is a continuation of these modernization efforts.

“These enhancements will allow us the opportunity to better serve our customers,” said Galveston Ferry Manager Bill Mallini. “We look forward to the work moving forward as we know this will greatly improve the quality of service we provide.”

As part of the contract, LAN and its sub-consultants will evaluate, maintain, repair and enhance ferry facilities, including docks, infrastructure and marine shoreside systems at Galveston-Port Bolivar. Specifically, LAN will provide project management, quality assurance/quality control, structural engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, plumbing engineering, hydrologic studies and coastal hydraulics services.

Other engineering firms that will serve as LAN’s sub-consultants on this contract include Bio-West, Inc. (wetland delineation), Blanton & Associates, Inc. (traffic noise analysis, air quality analysis and other assessments), Cobb-Fendley & Associates, Inc. (land surveying and utility engineering), Collins Engineers, Inc. (underwater inspections), Foresight Planning & Engineering Services, LLC (construction schedule support), McKim & Creed, Inc. (hydrographic surveying), Tolunay-Wong Engineers, Inc. (geotechnical engineering), RODS Subsurface Utility Engineering, Inc. (subsurface utility engineering) and W.F. Baird & Associates, Inc. (hydrodynamic modeling).

“We are looking forward to this partnership with TxDOT to facilitate enhancements to its ferry facilities,” said Jon D. Jelinek, P.E., LAN’s senior associate and project manager. “These improvements will enable TxDOT to more efficiently serve its customers over the next decade.”