Memphis District Awards Largest Contract Ever
The Memphis Engineer District recently awarded three major contracts, according to a December 9 news release.
The $43.9 million design-build contract to Salas O’Brien Federal LLC for the construction of the first Automated Mat Casting facility on the Lower Mississippi is the largest contract in the district’s history, according to the news release.
The facility, located at Lower Mississippi Mile 769 at Richardson Landing, Tenn., will provide a fully automated solution for producing articulated concrete mattress (ACM) for the new Armor 1 Mat Sinking Unit, which is expected to be operational in late 2026. The district considers the project a key component in Lower Mississippi bank stabilization efforts—technically known as “revetment,” which helps prevent scouring and erosion and maintains safe navigation.
“This is a significant step forward in innovating how we approach channel maintenance and navigation on the Lower Mississippi,” Regional Channel Improvement Project Manager Zach Cook said. “The automated facility will dramatically increase our capacity to produce ACM, allowing us to proactively address erosion and maintain the integrity of this vital waterway.”
The design-build project is expected to be completed within two to three years, resulting in a fully automated concrete casting facility capable of producing 50,000 to 150,000 ACM squares annually.
The second contract, a design-build multiple award task order for Civil Works projects, is a first-of-its-kind contract tool the district said is designed to strengthen its ability to respond quickly to needs, “reducing timelines, improving efficiency and aligning directly with administration and Army priorities to deliver leaner infrastructure projects faster and more effectively.”
As part of the base contract awards, the district issued the first task order, the Ditch 9 and Ditch 10 channel cleanout in the St. Francis Basin. The $6.99 million project was awarded to Donald Bond Construction Inc. The project, located near Trumann, Ark., will restore more than 23 miles of channel across Ditch 9, Ditch 10 and Straight Slough. Work includes clearing vegetation, removing shoals, repairing scour areas, placing stone for bank stabilization and replacing spoil-bank culverts to ensure reliable drainage, reduce flood risk and strengthen the long-term function of the St. Francis Basin systems.
Lastly, the Memphis District awarded a $6 million contract to Vixen LLC to complete the Grand Prairie Pump Station Inlet Channel, the final component necessary for water delivery to the Grand Prairie Project.
The district said completing the inlet channel is essential to the agriculture community in and around Prairie County, Ark., with 50,000 acres set to receive water in the first phase. The project is designed to help preserve the region’s agricultural productivity, while also reducing pressure on the declining alluvial aquifer, by delivering surface water from the White River to support irrigation needs.
The inlet channel is 1,825 feet long and 104 feet wide at the bottom. The remaining excavation depth required for the channel is 5 to 15 feet. Construction plans and specifications for the channel were completed in 2009. The district is working to complete the project in conjunction with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the White River Irrigation District.
Featured image caption: The Memphis District has awarded the largest contract in district history, a $43.9 million design-build contract to Salas O’Brien Federal LLC for the construction of an automated mat casting facility on the Lower Mississippi River. The facility will supply articulated concrete mattress for Armor 1, the Corps of Engineers’ new forthcoming Mat Sinking Unit. (Artist’s rendering courtesy of the Memphis District)
