Project record

Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project

Dredging crew and cutterhead equipment working from barges on the Sabine-Neches Waterway

Sabine-Neches Navigation District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Sabine-Neches Navigation District are deepening and extending the Texas Gulf Coast waterway through federal and non-federal dredging packages. An April 2026 USD 239 million Callan Marine contract covers about 20 million cubic yards, two anchorage basins, and 44 feet of usable draft from Taylor Bayou to Port Arthur and Beaumont by April 2028. That package is a major delivery step, not completion of the full 48-foot inland and 50-foot offshore programme.

Project signal

Construction in United States

Current status Callan Marine 44-foot package awarded; Great Lakes offshore Contract 6 in delivery; final 48-foot inland cut remains separate Source confidence Confirmed

Location

United States / Americas

Segment

Dredging and waterways

Status

Callan Marine 44-foot package awarded; Great Lakes offshore Contract 6 in delivery; final 48-foot inland cut remains separate / Confirmed

Last checked

15 July 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Dredging and waterways is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, and Sabine-Neches Navigation District
Delivery parties
Callan Marine, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock
Contract route
The programme combines federal USACE contracts with packages procured by the local non-federal sponsor. The U.S. Department of Defense recorded a USD 219.108 million firm-fixed-price award to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock for Contract 6 in September 2024; the contractor later described base work and options of about USD 235 million. In April 2026, SNND signed a separate USD 239 million contract with Callan Marine after a public bid process. SNND says an April 2026 memorandum with USACE allows the district to execute that work while remaining eligible to receive federal funds for at least 60 percent of the contract cost.
Execution window
Programme construction began in 2019. SNND's November 2025 package record says first-cut Contracts 2A, 2B, and 3 were complete, with Contract 3 finishing in September 2025. The Great Lakes offshore Contract 6 has a government estimated completion date of 24 March 2027. The Callan package was scheduled to start dredging in early June 2026 and must finish by 15 April 2028. Full-depth Contracts 7, 8, and 9 remain separate and their timing depends on Contract 6 completion.
Works package
The authorized programme deepens the inland channel from 40 to 48 feet and offshore reaches from 42 to 50 feet, extends the offshore channel by 13.2 miles, widens selected reaches, eases bends, and adds turning and anchorage capacity. The 2026 Callan package removes about 20 million cubic yards, constructs two additional anchorage basins, and delivers 44 feet of usable draft from Taylor Bayou to Port Arthur and Beaumont. USACE's Contract 6 covers about 41 offshore miles, including the extension, and approximately 35.8 million cubic yards of hopper dredging. Later inland packages are still required for the second four-foot cut to the authorized 48-foot depth.
Marine interfaces
Delivery crosses an operating energy, petrochemical, LNG, liquid-bulk, and military waterway with more than 50 regulated facilities. Hopper and pipeline dredging, active ship traffic, anchorage availability, dredged-material placement, berth-side private deepening, hydrographic survey, federal/non-federal funding, and reach-by-reach navigation authorization must remain coordinated. A dredged quantity or contractor completion notice alone does not establish usable draft across the full system.
Commercial evidence boundary
USACE, Great Lakes and SNND documents establish two large current awards on different scopes and commercial bases. The Great Lakes federal base award is USD 219.108 million, while later USACE and contractor notices describe total value including options at roughly USD 235 million; the Callan non-federal contract is USD 239 million. Those figures should not be combined into a single final-project value or interpreted as covering unawarded Contracts 7, 8 and 9. SNND's schedule-acceleration claim remains an owner forecast until the later packages and acceptance evidence close.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

SNND awarded the 44-foot inland package to Callan Marine

The USD 239 million contract covers about 20 million cubic yards, two anchorage basins, and 44 feet of usable draft from Taylor Bayou to Port Arthur and Beaumont by 15 April 2028. Its early-June dredging date was a schedule, not evidence of mobilisation or production.

Source

SNND and USACE established a federal funding route for sponsor delivery

The memorandum allowed SNND to execute the Callan package while remaining eligible to receive federal funds for at least 60 percent of the contract cost. It changed the delivery and funding path but did not itself prove an appropriation, payment, or physical dredging start.

Source

Owner schedule documented completion of two first-cut reaches

SNND reported that Contract 2B completed about 12.2 million cubic yards in December 2024 and Contract 3 finished about 7 million cubic yards in September 2025. The publication date anchors this record because the underlying completion dates were stated only by month.

Source

USACE awarded offshore Contract 6 to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

The USD 219.108 million firm-fixed-price award established the federal offshore delivery contract after two bids, with a government estimated completion date of 24 March 2027. Later inland Contracts 7, 8 and 9 were neither awarded nor completed by this action.

Source

USACE opened the Contract 6 contractor briefing

The pre-bid conference notice moved the offshore eight-foot deepening and ocean-disposal package into an active federal procurement process. It was a solicitation milestone, not a contract award or construction start.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Callan Marine mobilisation and verified production start
  • Two new anchorage basins and their operating acceptance
  • Dredged-material placement capacity and environmental controls
  • Great Lakes Contract 6 completion and offshore hydrographic acceptance
  • Reach-by-reach evidence of 44-foot usable draft
  • Contracts 7, 8, and 9 procurement, value, and delivery sequence
  • Final 48-foot inland and 50-foot offshore navigation authorization

Related records 5

Reporting status

Construction, confirmed confidence

Last checked 15 July 2026 across 6 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 15 July 2026 Cited sources 6

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 6