Port of Corpus Christi commissioners are poised to forge a pact with the Panama Canal Authority.

The nation’s fifth largest port has long had a relationship with the Central American canal and the people who run it. Now, the port’s seven-member commission is expected make things formal with a memorandum of understanding between the two authorities.

The memorandum is among the items to be discussed during the commission’s regular meeting Tuesday morning.

The Panama Canal may be more than 2,500 miles from Corpus Christi, but port officials believe its $5.4 billion expansion will have a direct effect on traffic following in and out of the Coastal Bend’s largest port.

Port officials want to widen and deepen the Ship Channel in anticipation of more vessels sailing through the area.

Port Authority chairman Charles Zahn led a delegation from Corpus Christi in August to attend the 102-year-old canal’s grand opening.

Commissioners also are expected to receive a report from Del Richardson & Associates on a port-funded plan to buy properties and relocate Hillcrest residents as part of the Harbor Bridge replacement project.

The consulting firm was hired by the port to coordinate the relocation of potentially hundreds of people living in the Northside neighborhood.

Last month, the Texas Department of Transportation, which is building the new $930 million span, suspended the relocation program until a dispute over the eligibility of some residents and property owners is resolved.

Commissioners will convene as the Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilot Board  at 8 a.m. The regular commission meeting follows at 9 a.m. Both meetings are open to the public.