USA: Corps Awards GIWW Channel Dredging Contract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District awarded a contract to Orion Marine Construction Inc., in the amount of $2,687,000 for maintenance dredging of the lower reach of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway’s (GIWW) Channel to Victoria in Calhoun County, Texas.

The contractor is required to remove approximately 985,000 cubic yards of material using a pipeline dredge.

“This dredge work allows the Corps to fulfill its mission of providing safe and navigable waterways for vessels importing and exporting goods through the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway,” said Christopher C. Frabotta, deputy chief of USACE Galveston’s Operations Division. “All dredge material from this contract will be placed within adjacent upland confined disposal areas.”

Work will begin within the next 30 days and is scheduled to be completed by September 2012.

According to Frabotta, the 423-mile long Texas stretch of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway links Texas ports with the rest of the nation and handles up to 90 million tons of freight annually.

USACE Galveston District was established in 1880 as the first engineer district in Texas to oversee river and harbor improvements. The district is directly responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of channel, including 270 miles of deep draft and 750 miles of shallow draft as well as the Colorado River Locks and Brazos River Floodgates.

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Dredging Today Staff, May 9, 2012; Image: usace