Erosion Control

USACE awards $8.7M contract for Navigation Systemic Mitigation Island 4 project

July 19, 2023

Newt Marine Service has been contracted to redirect sediment, perform dredging and plant vegetation as part of the Navigation Systemic Mitigation Island 4 project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District announced that it has awarded a $8.7 million contract to Newt Marine Service to redirect sediment, perform dredging and plant vegetation on the Wisconsin side of the Upper Mississippi River.

Newt Marine Service, out of Dubuque, Iowa, received the contract on July 14 for the project through the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). The project is located in Upper Pool 4, near Bay City, Wisconsin.

The proposed features for Island 4 under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program.

The project, known as the Navigation Systemic Mitigation Island 4 project, aims to address general degradation of habitat quality due to sediment deposition, wind-driven wave action, declining changes in river bottom elevation and a decline in aquatic vegetation.

Key project features include constructing a peninsula to improve habitat conditions by redirecting sediment and dredging in the winter to provide a deep-water habitat for fish. Willows, floodplain forest trees, and grasses will be planted on the islands to increase habitat diversity and quality.

Construction is estimated to start in the spring of 2024 and be completed by fall of 2026.

NESP is a long-term, dual-purpose program that integrates navigation improvements and ecosystem restoration together to provide positive impacts to the Upper Mississippi River System. The primary goals of the program are to increase the capacity and improve the reliability of the inland navigation system while restoring, protecting, and enhancing the environment.