April 29, 2009

Corps of Engineers receives Recovery Act funds for Civil Works projects

From a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers press release:

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, is receiving $49.7 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Civil Works projects in Alaska. The funds will be distributed through three Corps programs: $1.9 million will fund 7 investigations, $16 million will pay for 4 construction projects, and $31.8 million will provide for 7 operations and maintenance projects.

The legislation, signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, appropriated $4.6 billion nationwide to the Corps for its Civil Works program.

The Alaska investigation projects are:

$240,000, Alaska Regional Ports, to issue a contract to support the State of Alaska's Regional Harbor Development study

$150,000, Anchorage Harbor Deepening, to award a contract for a hydraulic analysis and participation in the ship simulation modeling

$300,000, Kenai River Bluff Erosion, to award a contract for a design analysis to include wave hindcast and revetment design

$250,000, Little Diomede Harbor, to award a contract for economic analysis, environmental studies and geotechnical investigations

$300,000, Matanuska River Watershed, to issue contracts for airborne laser (LIDAR) mapping surveys in conjunction with U.S. Geological Survey, wetlands mapping in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wetlands delineation assessment, and data gap analysis

$250,000, McGrath, to award a contract for engineering and design work for erosion control

$400,000, Whittier Breakwater, to award contracts for hydropower evaluation, cost estimating, and scoping meeting facilitation

The Alaska construction projects are:

$7 million, Akutan Harbor, to award the first phase construction of general navigation features (rubblemound breakwater and dredging for a commercial small boat harbor)

$3 million, Alaska Environmental, to award a contract to construct a water treatment plant at Buckland

$4.5 million, Seward Harbor, to award a construction contract for mitigation features, a breakwater extension, and completing construction of the project

$1.5 million, Sitka Harbor, to award a contract to complete project plans, specifications and a cost estimate for the harbor

The Alaska operations and maintenance projects are:

$23.5 million, Anchorage Harbor, for dredging of virgin material in front of the new intermodal dock facilities to minus 35 feet mean lower low water.

$4.6 million, Chena River Lakes Project, to remodel the project office to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; perform energy upgrades; replace underground fuel tank and heating system to meet environmental compliance requirements.

$900,000, Chena River Lakes Project, to repair/replace non-functioning relief wells and tie in well elevations to the dam crest.

$700,000, Cordova Harbor, to award an option to an existing dredging contract to remove a shoal blocking the entrance to the Cordova harbor.

$200,000, Nome Harbor, to remove additional sediments from the sediment trap to keep the entrance channel clear through 90 percent of the open water season.

$1 million, Project Condition Surveys, to update vertical datum at approximately 10 Alaska coastal projects to meet Corps of Engineers Project Datum requirements.

$900,000, Seward Harbor, to perform sediment chemical characterization analysis for in-water disposal approval and remove entrance channel and inner harbor sediments to provide access to facilities.

All American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Civil Works projects in Alaska will be competitively awarded and result in Firm Fixed Price contracts. The Alaska District will be publishing requests for proposals for these projects on the FedBizOps webpage at https://www.fbo.gov/ This website can be searched by agency and state for the Alaska District RFPs.

The Alaska District projects meet the five criteria enumerated in the Congressional report accompanying the Recovery Act, namely that the projects:

. Be obligated/executed quickly;

. Result in high, immediate employment;

. Have little schedule risk;

. Be executed by contract or direct hire of temporary labor; and

. Complete a project phase, a project, an element, or will provide a useful service that does not require additional funding.

Recovery Act funds nationwide and in Alaska will be used to complete increments of work on previously started projects and in some cases to complete such projects.

The lists of projects released today throughout the nation and additional information on the Corps' role in the Recovery Act are available on the Web at www.usace.army.mil/recovery.