HOUSTON, Texas (Dec. 11)--The deepening and widening of the 54 mile long channel is a five year project which began in 1998. The goals of the project is to widen the channel from 400 feet to 520 feet and deepen it from 40 feet to 45 feet. Here, we see a tanker passing a dredge working in the channel Dec. 11, 2000. USCG photo by PA2 James Dillard