James River Dredging Industry Day-Post Event Docs

The Norfolk District of the North Atlantic Division hosted an Industry Day on November 18, 2025, to discuss the upcoming James River Maintenance Dredging project. This project will be a 5-year Small Business Set-Aside IDIQ SATOC with a capacity of up to $47,000,000 under NAICS 237990. The Invitation for Bid (Sealed Bidding) Solicitation is estimated for February 2026, with an award in July 2026. The scope of work includes maintenance dredging of approximately 1.0 MCY of fines and sand using cutter-head pipeline equipment, with placement in upland and overboard areas. Environmental restrictions include a no-dredging window from February 15 to June 30 for various sections of the James River to protect anadromous fish populations and shellfish. Contractors will also be responsible for endangered species monitoring, water quality monitoring (including TSS and Dissolved Oxygen samples), and submitting an Environmental Protection Plan. Task orders are anticipated to range from $500,000 to $5M, with 2 to 3 task orders per contract year.

The James River Maintenance Dredging project is discussed in a Virtual Industry Day Q&A session. A key question addresses requirements for preparing placement sites and dike work. The Project Manager clarifies that Task Order 1, awarded with the IDIQ, will first involve earthwork to create capacity for dredged material, followed by the dredging operation. Critical pre-dredging activities include excavating material from the upper tier spillboxes at Richmond Deepwater Terminal and unplugging pipe outfalls. Any additional major rehabilitation work will be handled under a separate contract, indicating a phased approach to the project's scope and execution.

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