Date(s) 
1973 
NOT. 
1984 
Table 10 
Port Aransas Breakwaters 
Port Aransas, Texas 
Construction and Rehabilitation History 
Two rubble-mound breakwaters, the east 850 ft long and the west 
1,290 ft long, were constructed to provide adequate protection from 
ship-generated (Corpus Christi Channel) and wind-generated waves 
entering the existing anchorage basin at Port Aransas (Figure 12). 
The typical cross section geometry (Figure 12) had a crown elevation 
of +6 ft mlt, an 8-ft crown width, and 1V:2H side slopes. Cover 
stone size was 1 to 6 tons. The core and 2-ft-thick bedding layer 
were made up of 0.5-in. to 200-lb stone. The landward 550 ft of the 
west jetty were constructed as a sand-fill dike, with a crown eleva- 
tion of +4 ft mlt and a top width of 20 ft. A 21-ft-wide section of 
its 1V:5H seaward side slope was revetted with a 2-ft-thick bedding 
layer and cover stone layer (Figure 12). The revetted section was 
aligned with the breakwater section so that the tops were coincident 
at the harbor side of the crown width. The center line of the fill 
section was about 16 ft behind this point. The cover stone size was 
selected based on the lower cost of placing the 1- to 6-ton stone 
versus the 700- to 800-lb stone size required for slope stability 
(design waves of 8.7 ft and Hudson's formula). The breakwaters were 
constructed on a foundation of sands and silty sands. 
An inspection of the breakwaters indicated they were in good con- 
dition with the exception of the revetted section of the west jetty. 
Waves breaking over the shore protection had eroded the sand fill 
resulting in some minor settlement of the stone. 
The breakwaters were inspected and considered to be in good condition. 
EAST BREAKWATER 
—- 2. 
\ ENTRANCE CHANNEL \ 
Meee cits = ee eee ais 
SCALE IN FEET 
100 0 100 200 
————— = 
CLTYOF 
PORT ARANSAS 
WEST BREAKWATER 
SHORE PROTECTION REACH 
Figure 12. Port Aransas plan view and typical breakwater sections 
ns 
