As we approach two decades since Hurricane Ike in 2008, the "Ike Dike" coastal barrier project is still just an expensive idea. Despite approval from Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers, the long-planned and much-ballyhooed system of barriers and levees has no shovels in the ground and no timetable for construction. That's because while the project has received federal approval, it still needs the most important element. "We have not received any meaningful federal funding to date," says Coalter Baker, executive director of the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD), which was established by the state legislature in 2021 to oversee the project.
Not only hasn't the project received any federal funding, but the price tag has ballooned from $31 billion to $57 billion since the approval. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal. "We're enthusiastic and happy that President Trump is in there, the guy who built Trump Tower, he built a border wall, and now we're hoping he builds the Ike Dike," says Baker. "But we're not waiting, we're using state resources to help further along the design, so that when those federal funds come we can start turning dirt."
When or if those federal funds ever come remains a huge question, but Baker tells KTRH they have formal requests in to both the White House and Congress for funding. In the meantime, the state has allocated nearly one billion dollars in funds for smaller projects, like a 27-mile barrier between Sabine Pass and Galveston.
Some critics have run out of patience with the Ike Dike, and are calling for cheaper, more realistic solutions. Baker believes they can keep their eyes on the big prize of funding the Ike Dike, while doing what they can on a smaller scale in the meantime. "We will be chopping this up and trying to advance it in smaller pieces," he says. "We plan to have levee and dune systems all up and down the coast."
"The most efficient manner right now is to use those state resources until we get some federal dollars," he continues. "But I can tell you with certainty the federal government has an interest and wants to proceed with this project."
