USA: Corps Awards Bayport Ship Channel Dredging Contract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, awarded a contract to Orion Marine Construction Inc. in the amount of $2,988,900 for maintenance dredging of the Bayport Ship Channel in Chambers and Harris counties, Texas.

The contractor is required to remove approximately 500,000 cubic yards of material using a hydraulic pipeline dredge beginning January 2013 with a scheduled completion of May 2013.

“The Bayport Ship Channel supports the Port of Houston Authority’s Bayport Terminal Facility, as well as other local industries,” said Tricia Campbell, an operations manager with the USACE Galveston District’s Navigation Branch. “This dredging work will continue to keep the waterway navigable for vessels importing and exporting goods.”

According to Campbell, noise control requirements have been incorporated into the contract specifications due to the channel’s close proximity to residential neighborhoods to ensure reasonable measures are implemented to restrict noise producing activities to daylight hours whenever possible.

“While keeping America’s waterways open for navigation, we also strive to be good neighbors,” said Campbell.

The contractor will be required to implement a noise control plan in order to ensure that noise produced by the dredge, related equipment and operations do not exceed a level of 5 decibels above the daytime and nighttime baseline ambient noise levels when measured in the residential neighborhoods, said Campbell.

Additionally, sound measurement stations will be used to measure sound within the residential areas to verify compliance throughout the duration of the contract.

The USACE Galveston District was established in 1880 as the first engineer district in Texas to oversee river and harbor improvements. The district is directly responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of channel, including 270 miles of deep draft and 750 miles of shallow draft as well as the Colorado River Locks and Brazos River Floodgates.

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Press Release, December 9, 2012