HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
It's a "mission accomplished" for the USS Texas.
The ship had been closed to visitors so crews could find and patch a leak in her hull.
"She's a warhorse. She's a fighter," says Ship Superintendent Andy Smith. "She's kind of temperamental. Over the last 10-12 days, we learned how temperamental she can be."
The patch is just that: a patch. The real problem is the ship is 100 years old and sits in the brackish water of the Houston Ship Channel.
Corrosion is a constant problem. There are plans afoot to put her in a dry berth, but there's a problem: money. In 2007, taxpayers approved a $29 million to fund the project to do that.
"So far, everything we've looked at is out of our price range," says Smith.
They will rethink and explore other options but in the meantime, the ship is open for visiting again. The area below the second deck will remain closed for cleanup.
