GALVESTON, Texas (Oct. 7, 2013) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District awarded a contract in the amount $974,950 to Marine Fenders International Inc., (a small business contractor), for 50 mooring buoys, which will be installed along the Texas section of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
“These mooring buoys allow the towing industry to securely anchor barges when conditions are too harsh to cross the Brazos and Colorado rivers,” said Operations Manager Eric Russek, USACE Galveston District’s Project Operations Branch. “Additionally, the buoys allow tows to anchor during heavy fog, inclement weather and while waiting to travel through the locks.”
According to Russek, the USACE Galveston District inspects mooring buoys quarterly as part of its mission of keeping America’s waterways open for safe navigation.
"This repair work is part of the district's routine operations and maintenance," said Russek. "The buoys are scheduled to be replaced as necessary beginning in November to provide anchorage at 12 mooring basins."
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 250 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 news and information, visit the USACE Galveston District website at http://www.swg.usace.army.mil. Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/USACEgalveston.
Release no. 13-075