USACE awards contract for Kenai coastal erosion project

Western Marine Construction of Seattle, Washington, has won the U.S. Army Corps construction contract for the Kenai River Bluffs Erosion Project.

According to the Alaska District, the contractor will construct a protective rock berm approximately 5,000 feet in length along the north bank of the Kenai River.

It will require the placement of about 42,400 cubic yards of armor rock; 33,200 cubic yards of crushed rock and 13,100 cubic yards of gravel base.

The new infrastructure is designed to shield the lower portion of the bluff from storm damage and prevent erosion along the newly protected shoreline.

The project will create a condition that allows the bluff to stabilize over time. The bluffs range between 55 and 70 feet high, while the face is receding at a rate of about three feet per year.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2024 and estimated to be completed by February 2026.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this construction contract award is valued at about $19.3 million. The federal government is paying for 90 percent of the project’s cost share with the non-federal sponsor responsible for the remaining 10 percent.