The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New York District, has awarded a $25.6-million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., Oak Brook, Ill., to deepen the Arthur Kill Channel located between Staten Island, N.Y. and Union County, N.J.

The contract, awarded on Dec. 9, is cost-shared with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and is part of an extensive harbor-dredging project to create “safe and efficient channels for vessels that will be calling at the Port of New York and New Jersey,” the Corps says. Notice to proceed will likely be issued later this month, says contract project manager Bruce Wisemiller. 

The project will deepen the existing 35-ft channel to 40 ft mean low water (MLW) from the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island south to the Conoco Phillips Refinery and Oil Terminal in New Jersey.

Work includes mechanical dredging of silts and underlying bedrock materials that will be beneficially reused, says the Corps. Silts will be used to remediate existing upland impacted landfill and brownfield sites in the region, while the bedrock will create fish reef and remediate the historic area remediation site. 

Construction is set to begin in January, but Wisemiller says that depends on initial submittals from the contractor and the availability of equipment. Should construction not begin in early 2015, it will likely need to wait until late May, he adds. Completion is slated for November.

“Drilling and blasting of bedrock may be necessary in localized areas of the contract where mechanical dredging methods are ineffective,” said Bryce Wisemiller, Army Corps’ New York District project manager. “Should this be necessary, it will be fully coordinated with the adjacent communities, businesses and navigational interests.” He adds, however, that the drilling and blasting would not adversely affect any residences since the project is located far enough away from surrounding communities on both sides of the channel. 

Separately, Great Lakes & Dodge was among contractors working for the Corps to replenish beaches affected by Superstorm Sandy. This included the $418-million restoration project at Asbury Park, N.J., which finished this past June.

A new phase of post-Sandy work to make shorelines more resilient began this past fall focusing on roughly $2.77 billion worth of projects in the region, including the Seagate community on Coney Island's west side, which Great Lakes Dregde & Dodge is also involved in.