Sabine-Neches Canal Channel Limitations

Contractors continue work to remove construction scaffolding that collapsed into the waters adjacent to the Highway 82/Martin Luther King (Gulfgate) bridge in Port Arthur, Texas.

Vessel Traffic Service (VYS) Port Arthur will continue to enforce VTS Measures, including prohibiting vessels from meeting or overtaking within 1,000 feet of the bridge and requiring passing vessels to favor the red (east) side of the canal. The Coast Guard will also allow vessels with drafts greater than 30 feet to transit the waterway, on a case-by-case basis, provided those vessels are accompanied by sufficient tugs to safely favor the red side of the channel at a slow speed.

Vessel traffic restricitons will be rescinded as soon as practicable, and information regarding changing traffic restrictions will be disseminated as quickly as possile.