The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a maintenance dredging contract today (July 29, 2019) for portions of the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW) in St. Johns and Flagler counties. The Corps awarded the $5,898,389.00 small business set aside contract to Southwind Construction Corporation of Evansville, Indiana.
Maintenance dredging along the IWW keeps the channels open and safe for navigation. The Corps anticipates dredging will start in September and take approximately six months to complete. The operations will be performed with a cutter suction dredge with utilization of a pipeline to transport the dredge material to the beach south of the Matanzas Inlet. Once started, the Corps anticipates dredging operations will continue 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
Work consists of maintenance dredging to the authorized project depth of 12-feet plus 2-feet of allowable overdepth for a total of approximately 300,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand. The St. Johns County area consists of IWW cuts SJ-59, SJ- 60, SJ-61, and the settling basin adjacent to cuts SJ-60 and SJ-61. In Flagler County, the dredging area consists of cut F-2. Southwind Construction will pump the dredged material via pipeline from these areas onto the beach at Summer Haven, south of Matanzas Inlet. Incidental work includes beach tilling, endangered species and turbidity monitoring, and vibration monitoring and control at the Summer Haven placement area.
Beneficial placement of the dredged material along the beach in Summer Haven is a cost effective way to keep beach quality sand in the system, and provide coastal risk reduction and cost savings by nourishing the beach. In addition, numerous wildlife species rely on these healthy beaches as a place to live, feed, rest and nest.
The Corps of Engineers maintains coastal and inland commercial navigation channels with priority given to those projects that provide the greatest economic and environmental return to the nation. These channels operate together with other federal and non-federal assets to form an intermodal transportation network.
Release no. 19-048