Contract signed for dredging project

A contract to dredge the Upper Newport Bay has been signed, and the

project is moving forward, an official with the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers said Thursday.

Rio Vista-based DD-M Crane & Rigging was awarded a $16.5-million

contract on Sept. 26, said Art Shak, chief of coastal engineering for

the Corps of Engineers’ Los Angeles District.

“It’s really good news. We had a bid that was in line with what we

thought it should have cost,” Shak said.

The contract should cover work for most, but not all, of the

project, Shak said.

Shak said a start date for the project has not been set. He and

Denise Maurer, owner of DD-M Crane & Rigging, said a pre-construction

meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21.

A previously announced ceremony to commemorate the dredging

project is still scheduled for Tuesday, Shak said.

Orange County supervisors approved a funding plan for the project

in August. According to that plan, dredging will cost more than $39

million and more than two-thirds of that would be come from federal

sources.

A $12-million grant for the project from the California Coastal

Conservancy was announced in December 2003. Washington has already

allocated $1 million for the project, and more money has been

outlined in spending bills.

Former Rep. Chris Cox managed to have $2 million for dredging

written into a House appropriations bill, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein

got $7 million written into the Senate version of the bill.

Officials are still waiting for a conference committee to work out

the differences in the bills.

A Feinstein spokesman said Thursday that he does not know when

that meeting will be held.