Maintenance Dredging of NY&NJ Channels, Raritan Bay Reaches Federal Navigation Project

Background Information

The New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) proposes to perform maintenance dredging of New York and New Jersey Channels, Raritan Bay Reaches Federal Navigation Channel to a depth of -35 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) plus 2 feet of allowable overdepth. The proposed maintenance dredging would remove approximately 450,000 cubic yards (CY) of material from the critical shoal area with subsequent placement at the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS), approximately 5 miles east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The dredged material is expected to consist primarily of silt.

Based on the past dredging projects within the New York Harbor / New York and New Jersey Channels, and restrictions found in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation / New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Water Quality Certificates, the proposed work can only be performed by utilizing a mechanical clamshell dredge with environmental bucket. Additionally, multiple ocean- going, bottom-dumping barges, tugboats and survey vessels will be needed to perform the work during the dredging and placement activities. The dredging and placement at the HARS would be required to meet all federal, state, and approved local criteria required by the government agencies having jurisdiction where the dredging and placement sites are located.

Once the contract is awarded, the contractor will be required to commence work within five (5) calendar days after the date of receipt of the Notice to Proceed, and maintain an integrated production rate of at least 8,000 cubic yards per calendar day for the dredging and placement of the dredged material. The presence of the dredging equipment in the channel will impact ship traffic, and it is necessary to maintain this production rate while minimizing the duration of this impact.

The proposed work is anticipated to take place in the fall/winter of 2024. The work is estimated to cost between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000.
 
SURVEY OF THE DREDGING INDUSTRY

The following confidential survey questionnaire is designed to apprise the Corps of prospective dredging contractors’ project execution capabilities. Please provide your response to the following questions. All questions are in regard to the New York and New Jersey Channels, Raritan Bay Reaches Federal Navigation Project.

General

1)    Have you ever worked on dredging jobs similar in nature to this project? If so, please describe the project and for whom the work was performed. Identify a point of contact and phone number, as a reference of relevant experience.

2)    Have you performed dredging within the waters of the Port of New York and New Jersey?

3)    Do you have experience with the placement of dredged material at the HARS? Please list your experience.

4)    What percentage of work (volume of material dredged, transported, and ultimately placed) can you perform with your own equipment or equipment owned by another dredging contractor?

5)    Would you be willing to bid on the project previously described? If the answer is No, please explain why not.

6)    Would you be bidding on this project as a sole contractor, prime contractor with subcontractor(s), or as a joint venture?

7)    Is there a dollar limit on the size of contract that you would bid? If so, what is that limit?

8)    What is the largest dredging contract, in dollars, on which you were the prime contractor?

9)    What is your bonding capacity per contract? What is your total bonding capacity?

10)    Do you have experience using USACE Resident Management System (RMS) 3.0 for delivering Submittals, Daily Dredging Reports and Pay Estimates?

11)    Do you have experience applying USACE EM 385-1-1 (Nov 2014) and all requirements? Deficiencies observed on site will require immediate attention and action to meet all applicable safety codes.
 
Equipment

12)    What type of dredge equipment do you own and/or operate that is suitable for the work described? Do you own a mechanical dredge with a closed environmental clamshell bucket? Please list each piece of equipment capable of performing the work described, i.e. dredging, transfer, transportation, and final ocean placement of the material. For each dredge that you list, please specify its bucket size(s), and any other salient characteristics.

13)    Identify which dredge(s), including support equipment (tug, crew boat, scows, etc.), you would employ on this project. Also, for each dredge, identify the maximum dredging depth.

14)    Do you own ocean-going material scows? If so, how many do you have available for use? Please list the name of the scow, its type (ocean going, bottom dump, etc.) and the capacity.

15)    Will you be able to meet a production rate of 8,000 cubic yards per calendar day and complete all work?

16)    Do you have experience with the use of an automated Dredged Material Monitoring System (Black Box/Silent Inspector) employing a Dredged Material Inspector (DMI)?