GALVESTON,
Texas (Feb. 18, 2014) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Galveston District announced today it will solicit a rapid response maintenance
dredging contract, with the bid opening the week of March 3, to address
critical shoaling and perform maintenance dredging within the Brazos Island
Harbor (Brownsville Harbor) jetty channel.
Unexpected shoaling (sandy
elevation of the bottom of a body of water that creates a hazard to navigation),
prompted the Brazos Santiago Pilots Association (Brownsville Harbor pilots) to
issue a draft restriction limiting vessels to a draft of 37.5 feet within the
Brownsville Ship Channel.
“We’re aware of the economic impact this draft restriction has on
the port and are taking actions to solicit a dredging contract to address these
potential navigational safety hazards,” said Chief Christopher Frabotta, USACE
Galveston District’s Navigation Branch. “If all bids are non-responsive, we will
initiate procedures necessary to use government-owned dredging equipment to
relieve the draft restriction.”
Originally scheduled for award in January 2014, all bids received were
outside of the awardable range and subsequently the contract not awarded. Frabotta
added that the high bids were a direct result of limited dredging equipment
availability as contractors are using the specialized equipment on the East
Coast to perform beach work related to shoreline damage caused by Super Storm
Sandy.
“At time of bid opening, the jetty channel reach was not critical
(draft restricted),” said Frabotta. “Based on the observed shoaling rate over
the past two years, my staff calculated that the dredging could be deferred
until October 2014, however hydrographic surveys performed by the district
indicate that approximately three feet of shoaling accumulated in the jetty channel
reach over the last seven weeks as a result of winter storm events.”
According to Frabotta, the original contract was scoped with a
beneficial use component to include removal of sandy dredged material from the
navigation channel with placement on the adjacent shoreline of South Padre
Island but due to the limited equipment availability, beach disposal is
currently not an option.
“Unfortunately no contractors are available to perform maintenance
dredging with beach disposal until the mid-to-late summer timeframe, which
means that we will not be able to incorporate a beach disposal option during
this maintenance dredging cycle,” Frabotta said. “We will continue to work
closely with our non-federal sponsor (Port of Brownsville) to ensure the
channel remains open for navigation and with our project stakeholders (City of
South Padre Island, Texas General Land Office and Cameron County Parks) to make
every attempt possible to incorporate the beneficial use of future channel
maintenance material.”
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.
Learn more about the Texas coast at http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/TexasCoastValuetotheNation.aspx.
For news and information, visit www.swg.usace.army.mil.
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