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Last week, Texas officials announced the state will provide $5.2 million to the Port of Corpus Christi to help fund projects designed to expand rail and military cargo capacity. The port plans to improve and repair rail infrastructure, and double military shipment handling capacity.

The U.S. Department of Defense and Maritime Administration recently designated the port as a "Strategic Military Deployment Seaport for the Gulf Coast." During the past two years, about 40 percent of all military equipment moving through U.S. seaports has passed through Texas ports.

Military cargo levels are expected to remain high because of Operation Iraq Freedom. The military has assigned additional brigades to Texas, and many troops and tons of equipment returning to the United States from overseas bases pass through the state.