Solicitation
Mermentau River Bar Channel Dredging, Mermentau River – Gulf of America, Maintenance Dredging, #26-1
Dept of Defense · Dept of the Army · Sol. W912P826BA075
Due in 721 days
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
Some details weren't available to this summary, so it may miss requirements. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District wants a contractor to dredge the Mermentau River bar channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, removing material above -17 ft (MLG) from Mile 6.5 to Mile 1.3 and placing it on the Gulf shoreline west of the jetties. It is a sealed-bid (IFB), unrestricted job with an estimated value of $10 million to $25 million and about 129 calendar days to finish after the notice to proceed. The bid opening date has not been set yet.
Watch out for
- Large bid guarantee and bonding. You need a bid bond of up to $3 million with your bid, then performance and payment bonds on a job estimated at $10-25 million, which many small firms cannot get from a surety.
The amount of the bid guarantee shall be twenty (20%) percent of the bid price or
- Specialized dredge and monitoring equipment. The work needs a cutterhead dredge with attendant plant (tenders, survey boats, crew boat, pipeline) and a DQM-certified monitoring system, so you must own or secure this fleet or partner with a dredging company.
One cutterhead dredge and attendant plant with the following characteristics
- Bid date not set and dates conflict. The bid opening is to be set by amendment, while SAM.gov lists a deadline in 2028, so watch for amendments and confirm the real date before planning.
A BID OPENING DATE IS TO BE SET BY AMENDMENT.
- Scope text on the cover page does not match the project. The cover page describes floodwall, sheet pile and wick drain work that does not match this dredging job; this looks like a leftover from another project, so confirm scope with the Corps before pricing.
The work consists of clearing and grubbing, degrading existing
- Liquidated damages of $4,390 per day. Finishing later than the contract time costs $4,390 for each calendar day of delay, which adds up quickly on weather-exposed Gulf work.
Contractor shall pay liquidated damages to the Government in the amount of $4,390.00
- Pipelines and utilities in the dredge area. Several oil and gas pipelines cross the channel and disposal area; you must mark them with buoys, avoid damaging them and keep material 300 ft away from them.
The following pipelines, structures or utilities are located within the
- Liable for jetty damage and misplaced material. You must repair any damage to the rock jetty from crossing it with the dredge pipeline and remove material placed outside the disposal area at your own cost.
However, the Contractor shall repair any damage to this existing rock jetty resulting
- Payment withholding for monitoring data gaps. If the DQM data is not reported on time and to spec, the Corps can hold back up to 10% of progress payments, and monitoring costs are not paid separately.
will result in withholding of up to 10%
- Federal construction wage rules apply. The Construction Wage Rate Requirements clause is included, so labor must be paid at federal prevailing rates and payroll records kept.
52.222-6 Construction Wage Rate
- Question deadline already passed. The first window for technical questions in ProjNet closed Sept 11, 2026; check whether a second window is announced by amendment.
Technical inquiries and/or questions relating to this solicitation shall be submitted via Bidder
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. 1 not read in full.
- W912P826BA075.pdf
- W912P826BA075_Plans.pdf: too large
Full brief
What they want
- Dredge the Mermentau River bar channel to remove all material above -17.0 ft MLG between the stated stations (Mile 6.5 to Mile 1.3)
- Bid price is for mobilization/demobilization (1 job) plus dredging: first 680,000 CY and everything over 680,000 CY (estimated 120,000 CY)
- Pump or place the dredged material in the Government's Shoreline Restoration area on the Gulf shoreline, parallel to and at least 100 ft from the water's edge, with all access via the Gulf
- Use a cutterhead dredge and attendant plant, and submit a Dredge and Attendant Plant Data Sheet
- Run a USACE DQM-certified dredge monitoring system with an onboard computer, internet link and a Dredge Plant Instrumentation Plan
- Mark pipelines and utilities with yellow flashing buoys when within 1,000 ft, and repair any damage to the west rock jetty
- Submit a disposal plan at least 7 days before starting, and follow the Corps safety manual EM 385-1-1
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price, sealed bid (IFB) with unit prices for dredging
- Period of performance
- Estimated 129 calendar days after receiving the notice to proceed
- Place of performance
- Mermentau River bar channel and Gulf shoreline, Cameron Parish, Louisiana
- Estimated value
- Between $10,000,000 and $25,000,000
- How they'll choose
- Sealed bidding on prices; the whole award goes to one bidder. The text read does not describe any other award factors.
- Offers due
- Not set. The notice says the bid opening date will be set by amendment (SAM.gov shows a response deadline of 2028-10-01 10:00 AM Central, which conflicts with this).
- How to submit
- Sealed paper bid to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, ATTN: CEMVN-CT, 7400 Leake Avenue, Room 172, New Orleans, LA 70118. Questions go through ProjNet Bidder Inquiry, not email.
What they'll judge offers on
- Bid prices for Item 0001 (mobilization/demobilization) and Item 0002 (dredging, two quantity tiers)
- Bid must be responsive: a bidder that leaves out both the unit price and the extended amount for any item is non-responsive
- Bids can be rejected if prices are unreasonable or materially unbalanced
What to include when you submit
- Complete and submit Section 00 45 00 Representations and Certifications with the bid, or submit your SAM.gov online reps and certs that expire on or after the award date
- Submit a bid guarantee (such as a bid bond, SF 24) with the bid
- Fill in unit prices for every priced item and acknowledge any amendments on the SF 1442
- Leave extra time if hand-delivering: the solicitation warns that trains can block access roads and late bids are not accepted
- Technical questions had to be posted in ProjNet by Sept 11, 2026, 10:00 AM local; the solicitation says a later question period will be set before closing
You must have
- Active SAM.gov registration
Prospective contractors must register in the System for Award Management (SAM).
- Open to all businesses (no set-aside)
This is an Unrestricted procurement.
- Bid guarantee of 20% of the bid price or $3,000,000, whichever is less, submitted by the time of bid opening
The amount of the bid guarantee shall be twenty (20%) percent of the bid price or
- Performance and payment bonds after award; the notice to proceed is issued only after the bonds are verified
The offeror agrees to furnish any required performance and payment bonds.
- Current National Dredging Quality Management (DQM) certification for the dredge instrumentation system
The Contractor shall have a current certification from the DQM Program for
- Use only domestic or designated-country construction materials (Buy American)
The Contractor shall use only domestic or designated country construction material in
- Complete the representations and certifications (Section 00 45 00) with the bid
Contractors must complete, and submit with their bid, the provisions located in Section 00 45 00.
Not in the notice text
- Actual bid opening date and time (to be set by amendment)
- The 13 drawings (plans file was too large to read) and the middle of the main specification were not provided, including the general requirements and the first part of the dredging section
- Exact dredging requirements such as allowable overdepth, survey methods, production and working-hour rules, and how quantities are measured and paid
- Required performance and payment bond amounts and the days allowed to provide them
- Whether a site visit or a specific dredge type is required
- Number of bid copies and exact bid delivery instructions
- Whether the Corps has stated a rule for choosing among bids beyond award to one bidder as a whole
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Key facts
- Response due
- Oct 1, 2028, 3:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Sep 1, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- W912P826BA075
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Dept of the Army
- Office
- W07V Endist New Orleans
- NAICS
- 237990
- Product/service code
- Y1KF
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Place of performance
- LA
- Contracting contact
- Nakiea Butlernakiea.b.butler@usace.army.mil
What similar contracts paid
325 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code, in the same state, had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 26% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$11.4MMiddle half: $3.1M to $29.1M
Typical per year$7.9MValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Mermentau River Bar Channel Dredging, Mermentau River- Gulf of America, Maintenance Dredging, #26-1, Cameron Parish, LA (ED 26-007) The work consists of satisfactory removal of all material above elevation -17.0- ft MLG from C/L Station (-)16+00 (Mile 6.5) to C/L Station 250+00 (Mile 1.3), of Mermentau River from the limits as specified herein and successfully deposited on the Gulf Shoreline west of the Mermentau jetties, as shown on the plans. A BID OPENING DATE IS TO BE SET BY AMENDMENT.
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