The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, will perform emergency maintenance dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) at Caney Creek and the Brazos River Floodgates in Brazoria and Matagorda counties, Texas, beginning July 21, 2015.
A contract was awarded to Orion Marine Construction in the amount of $1.6 million to remove a combined total of approximately 103,000 cubic yards of dredged material at the busy waterway.
“ In response to grounding reports from the barge industry, the USACE Galveston District awarded an emergency modification to Orion’s existing GIWW across Aransas Bay contract to address two high-shoal areas that are causing draft restrictions and present potential navigational safety hazards to industry and users of the waterway ,” said Seth Jones, an operations manager with the USACE Galveston District’s Navigation Branch. “ This contract modification allows us to carry out our mission of keeping a safe and expeditious waterway for all users along the Texas coast.”
According to Jones, the sandy dredged material will be used beneficially by placing it in the surf zone, where it will nourish the eroding beaches.
Dredging at Caney Creek (approximately 66,000 cubic yards of dredged material) will start first, followed by dredging at the Brazos River Floodgates (approximately 37,000 cubic yards of dredged material), said Jones.
Work at the Caney Creek crossing is expected to be completed within two weeks, followed by an additional week for work at the floodgates.