Case Studies

In 1992, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers re-diverted the Colorado River to flow into West Matagorda Bay, the river’s original entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. The re-diversion was engineered to increase the bay’s biological productivity with much-needed freshwater inflow. However, silt soon began accumulating in the river channel due to ocean under currents, creating problems for water travel, fishing and commerce along the route.

A solution to the influx of silt came with a Corps-designed jetty in Matagorda Bay. The new jetty would narrow the channel’s water flow to help clear the silt and trap the silt from an updrift direction. In addition, the jetty would detour the under currents to keep the Colorado River open for shipping, help control beach erosion and allow the waterway to remain open.

Coldspring provided granite blocks and rip-rap from its local Texas quarries in Sunset Red^®, Texas Pink, Azalea, Sunset Beige and Coastal Rose colors. In total, the project required 50,000 tons of granite blocks, weighing 10 to 16 tons each, and 30,000 tons of rip-rap in 1- to 3-ton blocks.