The West Calcasieu Port board of commissioners decided this week to award the contract for the expansion dredging of the port’s west barge basin to Apollo Environmental Strategies, Inc. of Beaumont, Texas.
During a competitive public bid process, eight bids were submitted among which the lowest bid of $2,117,835 was the successful one.
Lynn Hohensee, WCP director said that the West Calcasieu Port will cooperate closely with local, state and federal officials to ensure that all dredging operations are in accordance with regulatory permits for the project and that an aggressive time schedule for the barge basin expansion dredging is respected.
He added that the scope of the project includes the expansion of the existing barge basin by approximately 800 linear feet to accommodate additional 25-30 barges. Hohensee further noted that when the expansion of the basin located on the north shore of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is completed, it will reach a capacity to accommodate 75 to 90 barges.
According to the estimation made by WCP Engineer Chuck Stutes with Sulphur-based Meyer & Associates, approximately 175,000 cubic yards of spoil will be dredged to accommodate the expansion of the barge basin. The designated depth of the dredging is 12 feet.
“Approximately 15 percent of the spoils will be piped to an existing open water area on the west end of the port’s property where it will be distributed to create 12 acres of new marshland, ” Hohensee said. “ The remainder of the spoils will be piped to the port’s existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-approved 40-acre spoils reception area.”
“Our long-term plan for that area is to use dredge spoils to elevate the 40-acre site to 11 feet above sea level, at which time, it will become a prime business development site ,” he explained.
A $2.3 million Port Priority Fund grant was awarded to the port by the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development as a considerable financial support.
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Dredging Today Staff, December 7, 2011; Image: westcalport