State officials will use $25 million of bonds authorized by Texas voters in 2007 to repair the battleship Texas rather than dry-berth the World War I-vintage museum ship.
It would cost at least $75 million to move the ship out of the water from its site at the San Jacinto battlefield near Houston, according Neil Thomas, project manager for the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.
“We’ve come to terms that we cannot dry-berth for the money we have,” he said. “Now, we will move as quickly as we can to prioritize and execute the most critical repairs to preserve the ship’s life as long as possible.”
Thomas said almost $1.5 million has been spent to repair leaks in the hull that threatened to sink the battleship, which has been at the site on Buffalo Bayou since the late 1940s.
The remaining $23 million of bond proceeds will finance repairs needed to keep the ship safe and stable, Thomas said, including structures beneath the engines and boilers to support the ship in the water.
The Battleship Texas Foundation will continue its efforts to raise funds from the federal government and private groups to preserve the ship in a dry berth.
