Atchafalaya river BAY, bar, and crewboat cut cutterhead dredge NOS. 1-4 2026

The Department of the Army Corps of Engineers Engineering District New Orleans is seeking to procure dredging services for the removal and disposal of shoal material in the Atchafalaya River Bay, Bar, and Crewboat Cut Channel located in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. The procurement requires a fully crewed and equipped hydraulic pipeline cutterhead dredge along with all attendant plant, equipment, and personnel necessary to complete the dredging operations. This acquisition will be conducted as a Full and Open Competition, with the solicitation anticipated to be issued on or about April 7, 2026, and the bid opening date to be established in a future amendment. While the evaluation criteria are not explicitly detailed in this pre-solicitation notice, the government has conducted market research determining that there is not a reasonable expectation of two or more responsible small business concerns possessing the required dredge plant size, pumping capacity, and operational capability to perform this work at fair market prices. All interested parties must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for contract award, and bonding will be required for the successful contractor.

This opportunity carries no set-aside designation and has an estimated contract value between $10,000,000 and $25,000,000. The acquisition falls under NAICS code 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction) with a small business size standard of $37,000,000, and carries PSC code Y1KF for Construction of Dredging Facilities. The pre-solicitation notice was posted on March 23, 2026, with a response deadline of March 23, 2027, providing interested vendors a one-year window to prepare and submit proposals. The contracting officer is Karen D. Hargrave (karen.d.hargrave@usace.army.mil, 504-862-1561), and the contract specialist is Francesca deBoer (Francesca.E.deBoer@usace.army.mil, 504-862-1607). All solicitation documents will be posted on SAM.gov, and offerors are encouraged to post subcontracting opportunities on the Small Business Administration's SUBNet to promote small business participation.