Solicitation
Barataria Bay Waterway, Maintenance Dredging, Bar Channel
Dept of Defense · Dept of the Army · Sol. W912P826BA062
Due in 706 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 shoal (built-up sediment) from the Barataria Bay Bar Channel in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, and pump it to the Grand Terre Island disposal site. It is a sealed bid (IFB) open to all businesses, with a base of about 375,000 cubic yards plus up to 100,000 more, and a 90-calendar-day completion time after notice to proceed. The bid opening date is not set yet and the Corps says funds are not yet available.
Watch out for
- Funds not yet available. The Corps will not award until money is appropriated, so the award could be delayed or never happen after you spend time on a bid.
Funds are not presently available for this acquisition.
- Large bid guarantee and bonds. You need a bid bond or other guarantee worth 20% of your price (up to $3 million) with the bid, plus performance and payment bonds if you win, which is a big surety hurdle for a small firm.
The amount of the bid guarantee shall be 20% twenty percent of the bid price or
- Specialized dredge and data equipment. The work needs a hydraulic pipeline dredge with Corps-certified data reporting, a seaworthy plant and a pipeline run to Grand Terre Island, which most small contractors do not own.
The Contractor shall provide a dedicated onboard computer for use by the
- Bid date not set, and SAM.gov date looks wrong. The bid opening will be set by amendment, and the SAM.gov deadline of September 2028 is probably a typo, so watch for amendments and do not rely on the listed date.
TO OPEN: TIME AND PLACE OF BID OPENING WILL BE ESTABLISHED IN AN AMENDMENT
- Must price the optional work or the bid is rejected. Leaving the bird nesting avoidance item blank makes the bid non-responsive, and its price is added to your base price when bids are compared.
Bidders shall bid on all items including optional item
- Bids can be thrown out for unbalanced prices. The Corps can reject a bid if any single line item price is unreasonable or materially unbalanced, so you cannot load cost into one line.
Any bid may be rejected if the prices for any line items or sub line items are materially unbalanced
- Optional work does not add time. If the Corps orders the optional work, you must still finish everything within the 90 days, which is tight for a marine job in the Gulf.
time required for completion of the contract will not be adjusted but shall be performed
- Payment only for fully dredged areas. You are not paid for an area until it reaches the full required dimensions, which can slow your cash flow on a large job.
No payment will be made for work done in any area designated by the Contracting Officer until the
- Pipelines cross the channel. The drawings show several oil and gas pipelines in and near the channel, which adds risk and care needed when dredging near them.
- Heavy safety and paperwork load. You must have an accepted accident prevention plan, hurricane plan and fuel and dredging reports before work starts, plus a full-time safety officer, which adds overhead.
Physical work cannot start until the Accident
Read from the notice and 4 attachments.
- Solicitation - W912P826BA062.pdf
- 20260624_BBWW Bar Plans.pdf
- Advert Specs Barataria Bay Waterway-Bar Channel-Maint Dredging Ed 26-028.pdf
- WD Number LA20260007 .pdf
Full brief
What they want
- Mobilize and demobilize the dredge and attendant plant (lump sum)
- Dredge shoal material from the Bar Channel: first 375,000 cubic yards, then up to 100,000 more (estimated quantities)
- Place the dredged material at the Grand Terre Island disposal site, with the pipeline routed across the Gulf shoreline
- Price the optional work: bird nesting avoidance measures, estimated 50 days
- Run a full safety program under EM 385-1-1: accident prevention plan, full-time safety officer, hurricane plan
- Run the Corps dredging data system (DQM) on the dredge and report fuel use monthly
- Provide compliance surveys, a project sign, and an office and meals for Corps inspectors
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price, sealed bid (IFB), unit-priced dredging items; award as a whole to one bidder
- Period of performance
- 90 calendar days after notice to proceed; optional work runs at the same time and does not extend the 90 days
- Place of performance
- Barataria Bay Bar Channel, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; disposal at Grand Terre Island
- How they'll choose
- Sealed bid (IFB): award goes to one bidder for the whole job, with the optional work price added to the base price when bids are compared. The Corps may reject unreasonable or unbalanced prices.
- Offers due
- Not set. The notice says the bid opening time and place will be set in an amendment. The SAM.gov response date (2028-09-16 9:30 AM Central) looks like an error.
- How to submit
- Sealed bid on the SF 1442; delivery address is not shown in the text provided. Questions go through ProjNet only, not email.
What they'll judge offers on
- Total price, including the optional work item
- Prices for individual line items must be reasonable and not materially unbalanced
What to include when you submit
- Complete the SF 1442 offer section and the bidding schedule with a unit price for every item, including the optional work item
- Include a bid guarantee (bid bond or similar) with the bid
- Submit Section 00 45 00 (representations and certifications) with the bid, or a copy of your SAM.gov online reps and certs that expires on or after the award date
- Acknowledge every amendment by number and date
- Mark the sealed envelope with your name and address, the solicitation number, and the bid date and time
You must have
- Active SAM.gov registration
Prospective contractors must register in the System for Award Management (SAM).
- Bid guarantee of 20% of the bid price, capped at $3,000,000, submitted with the bid
The amount of the bid guarantee shall be 20% twenty percent of the bid price or
- Performance and payment bonds from the winning bidder (amount and deadline are on SF 1442 blocks 12a and 12b, which did not come through in the text)
performance and payment bonds shall be submitted in accordance with the time frame in
- At least one full-time Site Safety and Health Officer for the dredging site, trained (OSHA 30-hour) and experienced under EM 385-1-1
require a minimum of one (1) full time SSHO assigned per project site.
- A dredge fitted with the Corps Dredging Quality Management (DQM) onboard computer, internet link and data reporting
The Contractor shall provide a dedicated onboard computer for use by the
- Dredges and quarter boats must be Coast Guard or ABS certified, or have a current annual marine surveyor inspection
All dredges and quarter boats not subject to USCG inspection and
- Comply with the Seagoing Barge Act and Coast Guard rules
The Seagoing Barge Act (46 U.S.C. 395 et seq) applies to this project.
- Use E-Verify to check employees before they work on the contract
Pre-Screen Candidates Using E-Verify Program.
- Pay at least the Davis-Bacon wage rates in the attached heavy construction (dredging) wage decision LA20260007
Dredging projects along the Gulf Coast Area including the Mississippi River and its
- No set-aside: any business may bid, large or small
This is an UNRESTRICTED procurement.
Not in the notice text
- Bid opening date, time and place, and the address where sealed bids go (to come by amendment)
- Estimated contract value or budget; the notice gives none
- Bond amounts, the days allowed to provide bonds, and the required start time (SF 1442 blocks were not readable)
- The dredging specification (35 20 23.00 12): required depths, allowable overdepth, dredge type, working hours and pay limits were not read
- Most of the bidder instructions, general conditions and contract clauses (including liquidated damages rates) were left out of the text provided
- Soil and shoaling conditions, and the environmental limits on the bird nesting work
- Whether the SAM.gov response date of 2028-09-16 is an error
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Key facts
- Response due
- Sep 16, 2028, 2:30 PM UTC
- Posted
- Sep 11, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- W912P826BA062
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Dept of the Army
- Office
- W07V Endist New Orleans
- Set-aside
- No Set aside used
- NAICS
- 237990
- Product/service code
- Y1KF
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Place of performance
- Barataria, LA, 70036
- Contracting contact
- Amy C. Feemsteramy.c.feemster@usace.army.mil5048622002
- Versions
- 2 (amended since first posted)
What similar contracts paid
100 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code, in the same state, had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov.
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
** BID OPENING TO BE ESTABLISHED VIA AMENDMENT PROJECT TITLE: BARATARIA BAY WATERWAY, BAR CHANNEL, MAINTENANCE DREDGING, JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA PROJECT LOCATION: BARATARIA BAY, JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA DESCRIPTION OF WORK: THE WORK CONSISTS OF THE REMOVAL OF SHOAL MATERIAL WITHIN THE BARATARIA BAY BAR CHANNEL, AND SATISFACTORY DISPOSAL THEREOF WITHIN THE GRAND TERRE ISLAND DISPOSAL SITE AS SHOWN ON CONTRACT DRAWINGS. NO DIKE WORK IS REQUIRED. (THE ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION IS 90 CALENDAR DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF NOTICE TO PROCEED. THE SOLICITATION WILL INCLUDE 16 DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATIONS).
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