The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, has awarded a $6.5 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (GLDD) for the construction of a beneficial use of dredged material placement area designed to handle approximately 400,000 cubic yards of dredged material.
The contractor has been given the approval to immediately start construction of a 1,500 linear feet of stone placement off the west and south portions of the Ashtabula Harbor East Breakwater and it is expected to take 12 – 14 weeks after stone placement begins, said USACE.
This project is being conducted in close coordination with the Ashtabula City Port Authority, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
“This $6.5 million award for the beneficial use of dredged material project at Ashtabula is great news for Lake Erie and Northeast Ohio,” said U.S. Senator, Rob Portman .
“As co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, working to protect our Great Lakes is a top priority for me. I am pleased to see this partnership between USACE Buffalo District, OEPA, ODNR, and the Ashtabula City Port Authority, which will not only help ensure the safe navigation of our waterways, but will also help preserve our environment.”
Without the strong partnership this long-term solution to dredged material management would not be possible, USACE stated.
The beneficial use of dredged material project at Ashtabula is being conducted under the Corps of Engineers Continuing Authority Program Section 204 authority and is cost shared 65% federal and 35% non-federal.
When the decade-long project is completed, it will create approximately 16.5 acres of pristine wetland habitat.