2025 East Best Projects
Award of Merit, Water/Environment: Fire Island
Fire Island
Long Island, N.Y.
EXCELLENCE IN SAFETY and Award of Merit, Water/Environment
Submitted by Weeks Marine Inc.
Owner/Developer/Lead Design Firm/Civil Engineer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
Construction Manager: Weeks Marine Inc.
Bathymetric Survey: Amalgamated Consulting Engineering & Surveying PLLC (ACES)
Endangered Species Monitoring: Tide Environmental LLC
During the winter of 2024-25, the project team placed more than 1.2 million cu yd of dredged sand along three beach sections as part of a larger effort to protect vulnerable coastline from erosion and storm surge risks.
To ensure the safety of onshore and shipboard workers performing heavy equipment operations amid bitterly cold temperatures, severe weather and rough seas, the project’s daily job hazard analyses were revised in real time to reflect changing conditions.
Photo by Capitol Aerials, courtesy Weeks Marine Inc.
Cold-weather protocols addressed risks such as frostbite and vessel icing, while crews were provided insulated personal protective equipment, heated break areas and training in cold stress recognition. Early input from craftworkers identified several measures that reduced access and work platform hazards.
Photo by Savannah Dempsey - WMI QC, courtesy Weeks Marine Inc.
Crews performing topographic surveys in the freezing waters were limited to wading depths, with a hydrographic vessel utilized to perform deeper data collection. By applying these and other safety measures, the team logged more than 58,000 work hours with no recordable incidents.
