![Photo: Orion Marine Construction](http://media.assettype.com/bairdmaritime%2Fimport%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F210924-4-USACE.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
The Jacksonville District of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has awarded a US$3.45 million contract for maintenance dredging of the Tampa Harbor Upper Channels to Orion Marine Construction of Tampa, Florida.
The contract calls for dredging approximately 135,000 cubic yards (103,200 cubic metres) of material from locations within the Upper and Lower Sparkman channels, the Ybor channel, and the East Bay Channel Extensions. The channels will be dredged to a required depth of 34 feet (10 metres) Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) with two feet (0.6 metres) of allowable over depth.
All dredged material will be placed in Dredged Material Placement Facility (DMPF) 3-D located south of the Port Sutton Channel. The contract also calls for the repair of the DMPF 3-D southern dike slope and the installation of a rip rap revetment.
The project, undertaken in partnership with Port Tampa Bay, will be 100 per cent federally funded.