GALVESTON, Texas (Aug. 27, 2012) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, awarded a contract to Weeks Marine Inc., in the amount of $2,635,000 for maintenance dredging of the Matagorda Ship Channel Entrance Channel and Freeport Harbor Entrance Channel.
The contractor is required to remove approximately 500,000 cubic yards of shoal material from Matagorda Ship Channel and 1,250,000 cubic yards of shoal material from Freeport Harbor using a hopper dredge.
Dredge work is scheduled to begin next week and is estimated to be completed by the end of the October. All dredged material will be placed in open water placement areas.
"The Matagorda Ship Channel is typically dredged every three to four years, while the Freeport Harbor Entrance Channel is dredged annually," said Eddie Irigoyen, civil engineer in the USACE Galveston District. "With both ports operating under draft restrictions, it's critical that we work to have this project completed on time."
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.
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