The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, awarded an initial $23.4 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock of Oak Brook, Ill., earlier this month to construct the second phase of the Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet (FIMI) Stabilization Project.
The second phase includes sand placement in the area of Robert Moses State Park and eastward toward the Fire Island Lighthouse. It involves construction of a wide, flat elevated berm in the area of Robert Moses State Park and a berm and dune in areas east of the park.
The contract calls for the placement of roughly 1 million cubic yards of sand and crews are expected to mobilize in the coming weeks. The contract is the second of what is anticipated to be three construction contracts awarded to construct the FIMI coastal storm risk management project.
The first contract was a $47.9 million contract awarded to Dutra Dredging of San Rafael, Calif., to construct the first phase of the project in the Smith Point County Park area.
Work is underway on the Smith Point County Park contract, which involves the placement of roughly 2.5 million cubic yards of sand in Smith Point County Park to construct a system of dunes and beach berm, including dune grass plantings. Work on this first contract also includes approximately 100 acres of habitat maintenance and enhancement within Smith Point County Park for endangered piping plovers.
The entire FIMI coastal storm risk management project calls for the placement of roughly 7 million cubic yards of sand overall to reinforce the existing dune and berm system along Fire Island.
The overall project includes beachfill at Robert Moses State Park, the Fire Island Lighthouse Tract, all of the communities outside of Federal Tracts, and Smith Point County Park. Where feasible, dunes constructed as part of this project will be tied into existing natural dunes in Federal Tracts.
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Source: USACE