Port of Galveston demolishing grain facility for cargo growth

After almost 100 years, the Port of Galveston’s towering grain facility will be demolished to make room for other types of cargo, like roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) cargo and giant wind turbine pieces. Demolition of the decommissioned grain elevators will begin this summer and be completed next year.

Galveston Wharves Port Director and CEO Rodger Rees said, “As we say goodbye to a piece of the port’s history, we welcome the opportunity to handle cargos that will be more profitable for the port and generate more work hours for members of the International Longshoremen’s Association.”

Galveston’s grain history

The port built its first grain elevator at Pier 16/18 in the 1890s, at about the time that the U.S. Congress decided to deepen Galveston’s natural channel and build a protective jetty system.

Investment in the grain cargo business continued with the opening of Elevator B at Pier 30/33 in 1931. By 1951, Elevator B's tonnage helped Galveston set a national record for exports from a single port.

In 1976, a private entity built Elevator C at the same location at a cost of $26 million. One year later a disastrous explosion leveled parts of Elevator C. The facility reopened in August 1980. Eventually, the port took ownership of the facility and leased it to operators until 2023 when the last operator ended its lease with the port.

Goodbye to grain

Rees said, “More than many other types of business, cargo is influenced by geopolitics, weather events, global economics and technological advances. Grain is no different. Over the years the grain market has softened, opening the opportunity for the port to use acreage occupied by the facility in other, more profitable ways.”

In June the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees approved a $3.55 million contract to demolish the facility.

When demolition begins, don’t expect to see a huge implosion. It will take up to 250 days and proceed in stages. Grant MacKay Demolition Company will use several pieces of equipment, including huge cranes and high-reach excavators to demolish the elevators and silos.

Concrete will be crushed onsite and used for fill and for leveling the area. The port also may use concrete rubble to fill in a slip for its West Port Cargo Complex expansion project.

The grain elevator demo is just the latest major change in the port’s landscape, signaling progress. In July, the port broke ground on a $90 million cargo infrastructure expansion and improvement project to expand berth space and lay-down acreage in its West Port Cargo Complex.

The port also began construction this summer on a $151 million cruise complex at Pier 16. The port’s fourth cruise terminal will open in November 2025 to homeport the MSC Seascape.