Callan Marine bags contract for BIH Channel deepening

Callan Marine has won a $104 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract for deepening of the Brazos Island Harbor (BIH) Ship Channel in south Texas.

USACE and the Port of Brownsville will be deepening the ship channel by 10 ft. to a new authorized depth of 52 ft. for a 13-mile segment. This section of the project is known as BIH Segment B.

“The deepening of the Brownsville Ship Channel is a monumental project that will set the Port of Brownsville on a strong path for the future,” said Port of Brownsville Director and CEO William Dietrich.

The project calls for the contractor to remove approximately 7,000,000 cubic yards of material using a pipeline dredge and deepen the navigation channel.

The dredged material will be placed into Placement Area (PA) 5B which was improved by the Port of Brownsville along with PA 7 in preparation of this contract award. Work is scheduled to begin October 2024 with an estimated completion date of June 2026.

“Our close partnership with the Port of Brownsville has been instrumental in making this channel deepening project a reality,” said Ramon F. Navarro, a senior project manager with the Galveston District’s Project Management Branch.

Navarro also noted another ongoing construction contract focused on deepening the remaining section of the Port of Brownsville’s ship channel, known as the BIH Segment A project.

This complementary effort is being spearheaded by the private partner NextDecade LNG, working in conjunction with the Port of Brownsville. The BIH Segment A project involves deepening the channel entrance to a depth of 54 ft. for the initial 4.5-mile stretch, before transitioning to a depth of 52 ft. for the subsequent 7.5-mile segment.

This results in a total combined length of 12 miles for the BIH Segment A deepening work. In addition to the channel excavation, the project scope encompasses placement area improvements, dredging of berthing areas, and the installation of navigation aids.