Galveston District Completes Beach Renourishment; Begins Canal Expansion
Pipeline is stacked on the beach in preparation for lengthening the line.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District has completed a beneficial use beach renourishment project on South Padre Island in Texas using beach-quality sand from a local dredging project.
On September 27 2012 the district awarded a $3.4 million contract to Weeks Marine Inc. which began dredging on November 3 2012. The contract was completed in January.
After the dredge discharges here bulldozers move sand to the finished beach elevation.
The Corps in partnership with the Texas General Land Office Cameron County and the City of South Padre Island pumped approximately 300000 cubic yards of dredged material. Weeks Marine hopper dredge BE Lindholm dredged from the Brownsville Harbor navigation channel then sailed around to an offshore location approximately 4500 feet straight out from the beach where it discharged the sand. The work renourished approximately one-half mile of coastline about 2000 feet total.
"Not only do we take care of our mission of keeping America's waterways navigable our beach renourishment efforts combat storm surge prevent coastal erosion generate economic growth through increased tourism and provide opportunities for recreation" said Col. Christopher W. Sallese Galveston District commander.
alveston District Project Manager Alicia Rea said that beneficial use projects such as this employ environmentally and economically responsible ways to use dredged material.
The Galveston District also began an extension project at the La Quinta Channel in Nueces County Texas. In September 2011 USACE Galveston awarded a $33537027.20 contract to Texas-based King Fisher Marine Service LP (now part of Orion Marine Group).
Scheduled for completion in July 2013 the work includes deepening the channel extension approximately 1.4 miles long and 43 feet deep (41 feet required depth with two feet allowable overdepth.) The project will also create a beneficial use site along the new channel to provide a shallow water seagrass habitat and protect the channel from wave action coming across Corpus Christi Bay.
