Construction begins on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers new hopper dredge
Eastern Shipbuilding crews held a traditional steel-cutting ceremony Friday morning at the Allanton Shipyard.
Eastern is building the vessel for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers' Ready Reserve Fleet. It will respond to emergency dredging jobs, operating about 70 days of the year.
'Congress passed a law long ago that said dredging is so critical. We want to make sure as a nation that we have a ready reserve fleet, proper dredges, and other dredges that can respond in the event that private businesses can't respond timely. So that's exactly what this ship will do,' Eastern Shipbuilding Group CEO Joey D'Isernia said.
Buy surplus government vehicles and equipment at Panama City auction
The hopper dredge is the primary tool used in beach renourishment projects. However, this vessel will be primarily used to dredge shipping channels up to 100 feet deep.
'We have over 45,000 miles of coastline in inland navigation federal channels that must be dredged to ensure that we support economic growth in the country and in the region,' U.S Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Director of Operations Stephen Hill said.
The hopper dredge costs about $250 million to build. The Army Corps will pay for it with money generated from other projects.
'It's like taking out a loan from ourselves. We borrowed money from ourselves to award a contract to build the vessel. And then once it's in place, the service will repay the loan by a daily rental where the costs go up between $120,000 a day to run the McFall, to pay the crew the oil to take care of the vessel,' U.S Army Corps of Engineers Regional Business Director John Primavera said.
It will take up to 30 months to finish the dredge. Once completed, the vessel will work out the Philadelphia district. It has not yet been named.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
10-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Burns Harbor delays deciding on land offer because of wetlands issue
The Burns Harbor Redevelopment Commission is delaying a decision on whether to accept a $25,000 offer from a Michigan developer for 25 acres off Ind. 149 and Haglund Road until they learn more about how wetlands on the property could impact construction. The commission voted Wednesday to contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would determine what wetlands are under federal jurisdiction on the property. It is believed that at least 12 acres on the northwest side of the property are under federal jurisdiction and unsuitable for construction. The Sloane Avenue Group and Redstone Group joint venture of Grand Rapids, Michigan, last month was the only one to respond to a Request for Offer from the town of Burns Harbor. John Kavchak, a partner in the Sloane Avenue Group, asked the commission to accept their offer for the land, contingent on what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finds. But commission members stated they wanted more time. Commission member Brad Enslen noted that they learned only three or four days before Wednesday's meeting about how the wetlands issue could affect potential construction on the property. Commission member Jack McGraw said how the wetlands issue affects potential construction is the big concern. 'We are on the same page. We are equally concerned,' Kavchak said. Kavchak told the Redevelopment Commission that they are still excited about their mixed-use proposal that would build 54 houses and retail space. He noted that the town would benefit from increased revenue from property and sales taxes on what is now vacant property. Houses would be mostly built south of the Marquette Greenway Trail that proceeds from the southwest to the northeast portion of the property. Soil Solutions of Valparaiso, retained by the developers, has found in their analysis that the acreage on the northwest side is under federal wetlands jurisdiction, which is why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must be consulted. There are isolated wetlands on the south end, which are under the state's jurisdiction, where construction could occur with mitigation. Kavchak said that he was even willing to let the town keep the 12 acres of wetlands property and still pay the same $25,000 price for the remaining property. Despite the challenges, Kavchak said that they have the 'willingness' to absorb the infrastructure costs and work through all of the wetland mitigation issues, which he said could exceed $200,000 alone, and in the end still provide value to the town. One resident questioned whether the town was getting paid enough money for the land. Jim Meeks asked commission members what the appraised value of the land was. Commission members said they didn't have the appraisal available. Meeks said that every developer normally has to absorb infrastructure costs, so that part of the offer is not unusual. Meeks said he believed that the appraisal would show the land is worth more than $1,000 per acre and he felt the developer's offer amounted to 'stealing' and was 'ridiculous.' 'That's a slap in the face to every resident in this town and taxpayer,' Meeks said. Donna Meeks asked the town to share the appraisal of the land at its next meeting. The town in 2018 paid $250,000 to the Duneland School Corporation for 28 acres at Haglund Road and Ind. 149. Gayle Van Loon asked the commission who was going to pay for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study. Commission members said that hasn't been determined yet because their vote was only to contact the agency. Tina Rongers, the economic development consultant, said that the developer has paid for Soil Solutions of Valparaiso to do its evaluation of wetlands on the property. After the meeting, Kavchak told The Post-Tribune that he believes that because of the wetlands issue, the infrastructure costs could end up being higher than normal and run close to $2 million.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- USA Today
Is your lake impacted by closures this July 4th? Check status on this USACE list
More than 40 federally managed lakes across more than a dozen states are facing full or partial closures heading into the July 4 weekend, as the Trump administration's layoffs and funding cuts earlier this year impact recreation services. Officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in May the agency is facing resource limitations and staffing shortages, at a time when outdoor recreation across the country was just ramping up for the summer ahead of Memorial Day. As a result, the agency says it has been forced to limit operations at certain sites or potentially close them altogether. Campgrounds, beaches, boat ramps and access points are among the sites being closed at lakes managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). July 4th: Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open? Flying or driving for July 4th? Here's the best time to leave and how much it'll cost "Decisions to make operational changes at recreation areas are not made lightly, and we understand those decisions may be disruptive to the public's plans," USACE spokesperson Gene Pawlik told USA TODAY in May. A few regional offices pointed directly to staff shortages as the reason for limited public access to recreation sites going into the summer. "We continue to reassess our current operating picture as impacts from resignations and the hiring freeze are realized," Pawlik previously said. The corps manages 400 lake and river projects in 43 states, making it one of the leading providers of outdoor recreation. The agency says it sees more than 260 million visitors to its sites each year, with many located within 50 miles of major metropolitan centers from coast to coast. How is the US Army Corps of Engineers impacted by DOGE? Layoffs of tens of thousands of workers across the federal government began almost immediately after Trump assumed office earlier this year, part of a push by Trump and his former adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, to shrink the federal government and drastically reduce spending. The administration established the Department of Government Efficiency to spearhead the effort. Trump executed a presidential order Jan. 20 placing a hiring freeze on civilian workers in all executive departments and agencies, which has been extended to July 15. Though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a branch of the U.S. military that primarily builds and permits infrastructure, it is a civilian workforce, and has been subject to the hiring freeze. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in March notified 1,068 employees (about 3% of its civilian workforce) of their eligibility for the Trump administration's buyout program for federal workers as part of a massive downsizing of various federal agencies. Tens of thousands of federal workers lost their jobs in the first two months of Trump's second administration through layoffs of probationary employees, who are new to government work or recently moved between agencies or accepted a promotion. Additionally, about 75,000 federal employees accepted the original buyout offer Trump extended shortly after he took office in January. Which lakes are impacted by closures? Here's how to check With the Fourth of July holiday weekend ushering in the start of peak summer boating, camping trips and hiking, some favorite destinations could be off-limits for the time being. Though there are some scheduled closures and weather-based disruptions, more than 40 lakes are impacted by full or partial closures amid the agency's grappling with resignations and an ongoing hiring freeze. The USACE maintains an ongoing map and list of sites with full or partial closures, including those due to flooding or storm damage and scheduled renovations. As of Wednesday, July 2, some of the lakes with multiple site and access closures or other service disruptions include: Closures helps USACE staff other sites, spokesperson says Pawlik told USA TODAY in May the USACE is scaling back operations at some sites in order to prioritize visitor safety and well-being, as well as ensure minimum staffing requirements at other locations. Full closures are a last resort, he added. "By concentrating available staffing at fewer sites, USACE can ensure those sites are able to provide visitors with the full range of services and opportunities expected at those recreation areas," Pawlik said, adding that changes are made on a project-by-project basis. Some are required due to resource limitations such as staff shortages, while others are due to scheduled maintenance, outages or what he called "other resource restrictions." Contributing: James Sergent, USA TODAY. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Panama City hosts first CRA virtual workshop to discuss projects in Millville and Glenwood
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The CRA board discussed two programs in their workshop on Wednesday. They believe it will help incentivize local businesses while protecting the community. The first one was introduced by the newly appointed mayor, Allan Branch. It's called SPARK stands for small business property activation, redevelopment kick-start. The idea would involve the CRA offering to sell city-owned properties in Glenwood through a 'structured, fair and results-driven process'. People or businesses with ties to Glenwood, who are minority or women-owned, or are creating jobs and using public-facing space, would receive preference through a scoring system. 'If our pipe dream or our success story is people of the neighborhood building back their neighborhoods, we need to have some sort of scaling or point system that you're most sophisticated by. Or someone out of Atlanta who has a $50 million portfolio is going to have the best presentation for property. And so we have to score people's packets differently if we want to incentivize local growth, particularly local growth that potentially might be there first. Building brick and mortar businesses, those are folks like myself,' Panama City mayor Allan Branch said. Panama City announce traffic impacts for 'This We'll Defend' celebration The second topic discussed is an outdoor seating incentive program in Millville. It would make it easier for restaurants to create outdoor seating. Under this proposal, businesses would be reimbursed up to $10,000 to cover the expenses for outdoor tables and chairs, patios, fencing, and outdoor lighting. None of these plans have been finalized, but the branch says they want to continue the conversation with some rough sketches and letters of support from businesses. The next virtual workshop has been scheduled for two weeks from today, which will be June 25. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
