USACE Galveston District awards $8.9 million contract for Houston - Galveston channel dredging

Published March 23, 2017

GALVESTON, Texas (March 23, 2017) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District awarded a contract in the amount of $8,921,000 to Manson Construction Co., for routine maintenance dredging of the Houston-Galveston Entrance Channel and Houston Ship Channel main channel.  Contract options in the amount of $4,704,000 are anticipated to be awarded to perform additional maintenance dredging within the Houston-Galveston Entrance Channel and the Galveston Inner Harbor Channel.

Approximately 3.75 million cubic yards of dredged material are scheduled to be removed from these federal navigation channels, which will provide unrestricted navigation to the port facilities at Houston, Texas City and Galveston – ranked the 2nd, 15th and 51st ports in the nation, respectively.

The Houston-Galveston Entrance Channel provides deep-water access from the Gulf of Mexico to the port facilities located in Houston, Texas City and Galveston,” said Chris Frabotta, chief of the USACE Galveston District Navigation Branch. “In 2015, a total of 294.2 million tons of commercial cargo traversed through the Houston-Galveston Entrance Channel, equating to 11.6 percent of the nation's total commercial maritime tonnage.”

The maintenance dredging using a trailing suction hopper dredge is scheduled to begin in mid May with completion expected in October 2017.

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.

For more information, visit the USACE Galveston District website at www.swg.usace.army.mil. Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/USACEgalveston.


Release no. 17-008