The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and dredging contractors, Kokosing Construction Co. recently held a meeting in East Chicago about the Indiana Harbor and Canal (IHC) 2015 dredging schedule.
There, it was revealed that fourth season of IHC dredging is expected to start in May. The contractors are planning to remove approx. 400,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the waterway.
Due to contaminated sediments and lack of a suitable storage area for the sediment, the harbor had not previously been dredged since 1972. The dredging and confined dredged material disposal facility (CDF) operation contract was awarded to a joint venture between Durocher Marine a division of Kokosing Construction Co. and O’Brien & Gere on September 30, 2011.
Under the deal, Kokosing Construction Co. is performing the dredge work and O’Brien & Gere is operating the CDF which includes site maintenance, operation of the gradient control system, water treatment, and environmental monitoring.
Dredging first began in the fall of 2012 and, on August 5, 2013, was completed for the calendar year. Dredging resumed May 2014 and was completed July 2014. To date, the contractor has dredged approximately 600,000 cubic yards.
Completion of the project has been set for late 2016.
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