Date(s) 
1868- 
1899 
1902- 
1906 
Table 9 
Aransas Pass Jetties 
Aransas Pass, Texas 
Construction and Rehabilitation History 
During this period several attempts were made to secure a navigable 
channel at Aransas Pass by means of structural improvements. In 1868 
a 600-ft-long timber crib dike (filled with brush and stone) was con- 
structed on St. Joseph Island (north side) by local interests at a 
total cost of $9,900. By 1871 storm activity essentially had de- 
stroyed the dike. From 1880 to 1885, the Federal government con- 
structed the "Mansfield" or "Old Government" jetty on Mustang Island 
(south side). The jetty was about 4,000 ft long and built using 
brush mattresses overlaid with stone. The cost of the jetty and 
additional shoreward improvements was $383,600. During 1888-1889 a 
2,725-ft-long riprap revetment (1.5 ft thick) was placed on Mustang 
Island, using portions of the previous (1880-1985) improvements at a 
total cost of $156,900. Between 1892 and 1896 private interests con- 
structed the "Nelson" and "Haupt" jetties on the south and north 
sides of the pass, respectively. The Nelson jetty, constructed in 
1892 to a length of 1,800 ft, consisted of a row of light cylindrical 
wooden caissons, 7 ft in diameter, filled with sand and stone, and 
riprapped to a certain extent. The cost for constructing the Nelson 
jetty was $53,800. The Haupt jetty was partially completed during 
1895-1896 to a length of 5,750 ft. The jetty was built on fascine 
mats (40 to 50 ft wide) and covered with a 3-ft-thick layer of 100- 
to 1,000-lb sandstone. The similar sized core stone was placed to 
mlw and covered with 2- to 10-ton cap and face stone, resulting ina 
top width of 16 ft and 1V:1.5H to 1V:2H side slopes. About 1,250 ft 
of jetty was completed to the design section. The jetty was con- 
structed as a detached structure (its inner end about 1,500 ft from 
shore) and shaped concave channelward (Figure 11). The detached fea- 
ture was for the purpose of maintaining the tidal prism, and the 
curvature was intended to train the tidal flow and maintain a navig- 
able channel via scour action. The prevailing thought here was the 
analogy of a river bend or oxbow. Approximately 25,500 sq yd of 
mattress and 57,700 tons of stone were used at a construction cost of 
$224,900; engineering costs brought the total to about $250,000. 
During 1886-1887 about 500 ft of the Old Government jetty were re- 
moved by blasting from the channel. These attempts at providing a 
20-ft-deep navigable channel were unsuccessful, and the project was 
returned to government control in 1899. 
During this period the Haupt jetty was repaired and completed using 
various sizes of stone riprap and crest blocks, typically 3 to 8 tons 
in weight. The majority of the 5,750-ft-long jetty was brought up to 
a crest elevation of +4 ft mlt. The construction costs were $468,900 
for placing 119,470 tons of stone. During 1903-1904, a portion of 
the Old Government jetty was removed from the channel at a cost of 
$46,000. 
(Continued ) 
37 
