The Indiana Harbor Canal (IHC) 2019 dredge season has been underway since the summer and will continue through the fall, reports the Army Corps’ Chicago District.
Indiana Harbor, located on the southwest extent of Lake Michigan, is being performed by Kokosing Construction Company.
Under the deal, the contractor will mechanically dredge the sediment within the IHC and hydraulically dispose of the sediment into a confined disposal facility in East Chicago, Indiana.
Kokosing Construction is also responsible for construction management services for the life of the contract.
Over the next few years, the entire federal channel will be dredged to congressionally-authorized navigation depths, including the removal of sediments in adjacent berthing and docking areas at a nonfederal expense.
According to USACE, since 2012, over 1 million cubic yards of sediment has been removed from the waterway and confined, greatly reducing the contaminants that had previously been washing into Lake Michigan, and improving the efficiency of deep draft commercial navigation.