The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, has awarded a contract option in the amount of $2.2 million to Orion Marine Construction Inc., for dredging of additional reaches of the Matagorda Ship Channel in Matagorda and Calhoun counties, Texas.
The contractor is required to remove approximately 1.9 million cubic yards of dredged material from the Matagorda Ship Channel (from Matagorda Peninsula to Point Comfort) beginning September 2016 with an estimated completion date of December 2016.
“Maintenance dredging is required annually to provide adequate channel availability for ships navigating the Matagorda Ship Channel ,” said Aron Edwards, an operations manager in the USACE Galveston District’s Navigation Branch.
“All dredged material from the Matagorda Ship Channel will be placed in open-water, unconfined placement areas.”
The Matagorda Ship Channel was constructed in the 1960s to allow deep-draft vessels to travel between the Gulf of Mexico and Matagorda and Lavaca Bays.
The channel is part of Port of Port Lavaca – Point Comfort, a major sea port in the state and nation, and carries approximately 11.6 million tons of commerce annually.
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