The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District awarded a $36.9 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge Dock, LLC of Oak Brook, Illinois to place approximately 1.1 million cubic yards of sand at Keansburg, New Jersey as part of an emergency shore protection project affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The contract is part of the larger Keansburg Storm Damage Reduction Project which includes repair to Keansburg’s levees.
Construction work is expected to begin this fall and completed in the winter, 200 days from the construction commencement date.
“With this contract, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing to restore coastal areas in New Jersey, and hopeful that in addition to providing beach erosion control and storm risk reduction, that this work also helps the region heal by restoring important and central element to this area.” said Col. Paul E. Owen, the Army Corps’ New York District Commander.
Everything the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does must be tied to some statutory authority. The work at Keansburg is the result of two statutory authorities, one previously existing and one that is new since Hurricane Sandy.
Through the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Act, PL 84-99, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is authorized to repair previously constructed projects after a large event like Hurricane Sandy. Put simply, this preexisting authority allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to return the project area to pre-storm conditions.
Through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (the Sandy Relief Bill, or PL 113-2), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is authorized to restore previously constructed projects severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
This new authority allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy to their original design profile, which often means placing a great deal more sand during the near-term coastal restoration efforts.
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Press Release, September 19, 2013