The first media report on Dr. William Merrell's proposed "Ike Dike" was on GuidryNews.com on November 11, 2008, less than two months after Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston Island, the Bolivar Peninsula and other coastal communities with its massive storm surge. 

I heard Dr. Merrell discuss the surge protection system - extension of the Galveston Seawall to the west, erection of a seawall on Bolivar, and flood gates at San Luis Pass and the entrance to the Houston/Galveston Ship Channel - at the Sunday Morning Coffee Club, an informal off-the-record discussion group.  He agreed to write a guest column detailing his ideas.

The article he provided included the surge protection system as well as a plan to improve downtown; and a promise of a college education for long-term Galveston Independent School District students. Merrell Column