GLDD Secures Shell Island Gig

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) has won a $76 million deal for the Shell Island West Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Restoration Project from the State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).

The scope of work includes the creation of 2.8 miles of beach and dune habitat, as well as 281 acres of marsh. The project is anticipated to require 4.9 million cubic yards of sand borrowed from the Mississippi River and 1.7 million cubic yards of marsh material borrowed from an offshore source in the Gulf of Mexico.

Leveraging its engineering expertise, Great Lakes will hydraulically transport river bed deposits from the Mississippi River in a sand and water slurry through a 16 mile long pipeline placed over two levees, bored beneath two highways, and submerged along the Empire Waterway to Shell Island.

Work on the Shell Island West project will begin this fall and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2016.

“Building and restoring the barrier island chains is a critical component of protecting Louisiana and the Gulf Coast from future storms and disasters, and we are privileged to continue to contribute to this effort,” stated Steve Auernhamer, Vice President and Gulf Coast Area Manager for GLDD.

Shell Island West NRDA Restoration is being implemented with Deepwater Horizon NRDA Early Restoration funds. It is one of four components of the $318 million Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Projects approved as part of the third phase of early restoration in October 2014. The remaining components include Caillou Lake Headlands (also known as Whiskey Island), which is anticipated to bid for construction in the next six months, Chenier Ronquille, and North Breton Island.

With the recent settlement of the legal case against BP associated with the Deepwater Horizon accident, Great Lakes CEO Jonathan Berger commented, “With funding now imminent, the Gulf States can move forward with their long planned restoration efforts, which should result in a heightened volume of dredging opportunities in the region for the foreseeable future. Great Lakes is well positioned to support the States in these efforts.”

The company was also recently awarded a $20 million contract including options by the US Army Corps of Engineers – Galveston District for routine maintenance dredging of the Galveston Entrance, Outer and Inner Bar channels, as well as the Houston Ship Channel between Bolivar Road and Redfish Island.

A significant portion of the dredged sand will be beneficially used to restore the adjacent shoreline of Galveston Beach, starting at the 61st Street Pier and working westward, to enhance the beach for both coastal protection and recreation. Work on this project is underway and will be completed by the end of the year.