Maintaining vital deep-draft commercial shipping channels, removing accumulated silt and sand sediment, and ensuring safe maritime access to South Texas port infrastructure, Manson Construction Co. has been awarded a $9,387,750 firm-fixed-price contract. The civil works navigation maintenance award finances targeted maintenance dredging of the Brazos Island Harbor entrance and jetty channel near Port Isabel, Texas.
Contract Details: At A Glance
| Contractor: | Manson Construction Co. |
| Award Date: | September 11, 2026 |
| Contract Value: | $9,387,750 |
| Project: | Brazos Island Harbor Entrance & Jetty Channel Maintenance Dredging |
| Location: | Port Isabel, Texas (Brazos Island Harbor) |
| Contract Number: | W912HY-26-C-A029 |
| Awarding District: | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District |
District Context & Mission Impact
This essential navigation maintenance project is administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District. The Galveston District oversees critical deep-draft shipping channels along the Texas Gulf Coast that drive international trade, energy export, and economic development. The Brazos Island Harbor waterway serves the Port of Brownsville and Port Isabel, acting as the primary deep-water shipping channel for the Rio Grande Valley. Ocean currents and littoral sand transport cause continuous shoaling across the sea buoy entrance and jetty pass. Dredging the entrance channel restores authorized navigation depths, removes hazardous shoals, and ensures safe transit for heavy commercial vessels, cargo barges, and shrimp fleets through early 2027.
Contractor Spotlight & Industry Context
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Manson Construction Co. is an employee-owned national leader in heavy marine civil construction, trailing suction hopper dredging, cutterhead pipeline dredging, and offshore breakwater development. Bids were solicited via the internet with three competitive proposals received. Executing maintenance dredging along exposed Gulf Coast entrance channels requires ocean-certified hopper dredges or heavy pipeline dredge plants, precise hydrographic bathymetric surveying, offshore placement or beneficial reuse sediment transport, and continuous environmental monitoring to safeguard sea turtle and coastal marine habitats. Partnering established dredging operators with USACE coastal engineers maintains resilient maritime supply chains across Texas ports.
