Great Lakes ore carriers bringing critical road construction materials, road salt, sand, gravel and other aggregates to the Lake Michigan port of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor will be rewarded with clear sailing and fewer threats of running aground thanks to new contracts delivered in the past week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for dredging there as well as at the harbor in Holland up the coast.
Recreational boaters also gain dramatically from deeper drafts when the Army Corps performs the critical dredging process so they will sing the praises of the new contracts as well.
The Detroit District of the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract valued at $374,000 to King Company of Holland for the dredging of both harbors this year. King will dredge approximately 30,000 cubic yards of material from St. Joseph Outer Harbor and 34,000 cubic yards of material from Holland Harbor. Material from both sites will be placed south of the south breakwater between the ordinary high water mark and the most landward 4-foot contour.
Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue is District Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps at the Detroit District. He says, “We are pleased to award this dredging contract so that navigational channels in St. Joseph Harbor and Holland Harbor can be kept open for important cargo.” Sugrue adds, “Marine transport of commodities is safe, economical and environmentally friendly.”
Cargo coming into St. Joseph Harbor includes limestone, sand, gravel, armor stone, cement, slag, salt and petroleum products, while Holland Harbor handles coal, building materials, petroleum products and other miscellaneous commodities.
Work is anticipated to start in both the St. Joseph and Holland harbors the first full week in June with work expected to be completed by July.
The contract was awarded under the Corps’ Multiple Award Task Order Contract, MATOC, which the Detroit District established with 10 companies capable of dredging in the Great Lakes. The MATOC is designed to provide greater flexibility and expedite the bid solicitation-award process for dredging in Great Lakes commercial shipping channels and harbors.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, maintains a navigation system of 91 harbors and four connecting channels, including the channels joining lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie.
For more information on the project in St. Joseph, you can click this link:
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Operations/St-Joseph-Harbor-MI/
The map used by the Army Corps to delineate the path of the dredging plan dates back to charts created in September of 1986, as shown in the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com.
