GALVESTON, Texas (Aug. 13, 2012) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, awarded a contract to Mike Hooks Inc., in the amount of $4,397,500 for maintenance dredging of the Texas City Channel and placement area levee construction in Galveston County, Texas.
The contractor is required to remove approximately 735,000 cubic yards of shoal material using a hydraulic pipeline dredge.
“The Texas City Channel serves as an irreplaceable link in our nation’s energy transportation network, allowing vessels to carry critical commodities including crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, intermediate chemicals and petroleum coke to various industries, including the energy sector, which contributes to the economic strength of the nation,” said Paula Wise, an operations manager with USACE Galveston’s Navigation Branch. “This dredging work will continue to keep waterways navigable for vessels importing and exporting goods to and from the Port of Texas City, which ranks 10th in the nation with respect to millions of short tons.”
Dredge work is scheduled to begin in October 2012 and is estimated to be completed by the end of the year.
“The majority of the dredged material from the channel will be used beneficially, eventually creating marsh habitat as a result of dredging efforts,” said Wise. “Non-federal dock dredging material will be placed in placement areas 5 and 6 after the levee construction is completed.”
This is the first maintenance dredging contract awarded since the Texas City Channel was deepened from 40 to 45 feet in October 2011. The $75 million project originally slated to take five years to complete, was finished in less than two years.
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.
To learn more about dredging on the Texas coast, view our four-minute video at http://bit.ly/KLZQBM. For more information about Texas ports visit www.texasports.org and to learn more about the USACE Galveston District’s news and upcoming events visit www.swg.usace.army.mil. Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/USACEgalveston.