Project record

Bellingham Shipping Terminal marine infrastructure and dredging

Official Bellingham Shipping Terminal dredging plan showing the Whatcom Waterway, dredge basin, wharf replacement area and federal navigation channel

Port of Bellingham / Moffatt & Nichol; official PW 23-10 bid drawing D-102, final submittal issued 12 July 2023

The Port of Bellingham awarded Contract PW 23-10 to American Construction Co. Inc. after its USD 22,472,328.83 base bid ranked first of four. The wider USD 27.5 million modernization combines removal of about 22,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, deepening from about -26 to -35 feet MLLW, a new 140-foot steel-pile-supported heavy-lift wharf, South Terminal repairs, stormwater treatment and shore-power-enabling utilities. Washington Labor & Industries now exposes 37 intent filings, 35 affidavit filings and 30 unique named downstream companies across first-, second- and third-tier relationships. Those filings make the commercial chain unusually visible, but they do not by themselves prove each party's performed scope, owner acceptance or final account.

Project signal

Delivery in United States

Current status Port reporting confirms key dock and stormwater upgrades were completed in 2025 and navigation and environmental work advanced; Washington L&I records American Construction's contractor-reported 8 April 2026 work-completed date, but no filed Notice of Completion, owner acceptance, final hydrographic survey, final dredged quantity or final account is evidenced Source confidence Confirmed

Location

United States / Americas

Segment

Contaminated-sediment dredging, heavy-lift wharf replacement and terminal utilities

Status

Port reporting confirms key dock and stormwater upgrades were completed in 2025 and navigation and environmental work advanced; Washington L&I records American Construction's contractor-reported 8 April 2026 work-completed date, but no filed Notice of Completion, owner acceptance, final hydrographic survey, final dredged quantity or final account is evidenced / Confirmed

Last checked

12 August 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Contaminated-sediment dredging, heavy-lift wharf replacement and terminal utilities 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
Port of Bellingham
Delivery parties
American Construction Co. Inc. - confirmed prime contractor under PW 23-10, Moffatt & Nichol - confirmed design, permitting, bid-document and potential construction-support consultant under RFPS 22-6, First-tier L&I intent chain includes AI PNW, Cascade Sawing & Drilling, Concrete Technology, Crux Diving, Donald B. Murphy Contractors, eTrac, Jesse Engineering, Langco NW, Malcolm Drilling, Pacific Steel Group, Pacific Surveying & Engineering, Scarsella Bros, Service Electric, Strider Construction, Waste Management, Western Concrete Pumping and Woolpert, Strider Construction's reported downstream chain includes AI PNW, Bayside Services, Blue Star Welding, HM Pacific Northwest, Jammie's Environmental, Lakeside Industries, PR Systems and Salinas Sawing & Sealing, Lakeside Industries' reported downstream chain includes Peterson Repair & Trucking, Roy Finkbonner Trucking and Sovereign Trucking; Langco NW reports Miles Sand & Gravel, Service Electric reports Seacom Cabling; Waste Management reports R Transport
Contract route
The Port issued PW 23-10 for public bidding with a 9 November 2023 due date. The official bid tab records American Construction at USD 22,472,328.83, IMCO General Construction at USD 24,988,629.12, Pacific Pile & Marine at USD 25,947,322.50 and Orion Marine Contractors at USD 30,362,261.12, against an engineer's estimate of USD 20,581,660.51. The Port's award page names American as the awarded recipient, and Washington L&I records a 22 November 2023 award date. The wider modernization is supported in part by a USD 6.85 million MARAD Port Infrastructure Development Program grant.
Execution window
The owner announced a January 2024 dredging start and expected Spring 2025 completion, with dredging windows in January to mid-February and August to October. Those were baseline expectations. Port reporting says key dock and stormwater upgrades were completed during 2025 and that a dredging project restored some traditional navigation depth. L&I records American's work start as 1 February 2024 and its contractor-reported completion date as 8 April 2026. No cited source supplies a filed Notice of Completion, accepted final survey, accepted quantities, defects closeout or final account.
Works package
Demolish and haul part of the Central Terminal wharf; provide temporary and permanent electrical and mechanical utilities; dredge contaminated sediment in the Whatcom Waterway and beneath the South, Central and North Terminal wharf decks; transport and dispose of contaminated material at a Subtitle D landfill; place a clean-sand residual-management cover; construct a new steel-pile-supported concrete heavy-lift wharf in the Central Terminal footprint; and selectively repair South Terminal timber piles, deck and bracing. The owner programme describes a 140-foot replacement wharf, about 22,000 cubic yards of sediment removal, deepening from about -26 to -35 feet MLLW, onshore stormwater treatment and infrastructure capable of supporting future vessel shore power.
Marine interfaces
The package combines contaminated-sediment excavation beneath existing operating wharves, waterway geometry, landfill routing, clean-cover placement, pile-supported heavy-lift wharf construction, structural repairs and live terminal utilities. Delivery evidence therefore depends on accepted bathymetry and dredged quantities, sediment manifests and environmental closeout, pile and concrete records, wharf load acceptance, stormwater commissioning, utility handover and an operating release rather than a single contractor completion date.
Commercial evidence boundary
Three different commercial measures must remain separate: the Port's USD 27.5 million whole-modernization budget, American Construction's exact USD 22,472,328.83 accepted base bid, and American's USD 25,966,774.06 L&I affidavit filing. L&I intent and affidavit records expose package-level figures such as Strider Construction's USD 2,267,050 intent and USD 2,973,927.40 affidavit, Concrete Technology's USD 1,535,406 intent and USD 1,542,130 affidavit, Malcolm Drilling's USD 1,081,914 intent with no completion affidavit, Jesse Engineering's USD 563,189 filing and Crux Diving's USD 264,435.07 affidavit. These are overlapping contractor filings, not additive owner expenditure or an approved final account.

Contract and delivery chain

Named roles and open packages

Named appointments are shown against the workstream they cover. Unallocated packages remain open until a project source identifies the responsible party.

Prime award

PW 23-10 Bellingham Shipping Terminal Marine Infrastructure and Dredging

Named party
American Construction Co. Inc.
Status
Confirmed
Source position
The Port award page names American as recipient and the official bid tab records its first-ranked USD 22,472,328.83 base bid. Source
Design and procurement support

RFPS 22-6 marine infrastructure and dredging professional services

Named party
Moffatt & Nichol
Status
Confirmed
Source position
The Port awarded RFPS 22-6 for design, permitting, bid documents, grant support and potential construction inspection and administration. Source
Dredging and sediment routing

Whatcom Waterway and terminal-wharf dredging

Named party
Port of Bellingham and American Construction
Status
Confirmed
Source position
Owner documents define about 22,000 cubic yards of contaminated-sediment removal, Subtitle D landfill disposal, clean-sand cover and deepening from about -26 to -35 feet MLLW. Source
Wharf and terminal systems

Central Terminal replacement wharf, South Terminal repairs and utilities

Named party
American Construction and reported lower tiers
Status
Confirmed
Source position
Bid documents define a 140-foot steel-pile-supported concrete heavy-lift wharf, selective South Terminal repairs, stormwater treatment and shore-power-enabling infrastructure. Source
Downstream filing chain

First-, second- and third-tier intents and affidavits

Named party
30 unique named downstream companies
Status
Reported
Source position
Washington L&I exposes 37 intent filings and 35 affidavit filings, including nested chains beneath Strider, Lakeside, Langco, Service Electric and Waste Management. Filing relationships do not prove performed scope or owner acceptance. Source
Contractor closeout filing

American Construction affidavit

Named party
American Construction Co. Inc.
Status
Reported
Source position
L&I records an 8 April 2026 contractor-reported completion date and a USD 25,966,774.06 affidavit amount. Neither is an owner Notice of Completion, acceptance certificate or approved final account. Source
Owner acceptance

Final quantities, hydrography, handover and final account

Named party
Port of Bellingham
Status
Not evidenced
Source position
No cited source provides a filed Notice of Completion, accepted final bathymetry, final dredged quantity, structural and systems handover or owner-approved final account.

Project timeline

Material developments

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

Open this project in the Change Log

American Construction affidavit enters the L&I record

The filing records a USD 25,966,774.06 contractor amount and 8 April work-completed date, while leaving owner acceptance and final account unconfirmed.

Source

Port reports 2025 dock and stormwater progress

The Port says key dock and stormwater upgrades were completed while environmental cleanup and navigation improvements advanced; it does not publish full PW 23-10 acceptance.

Source

Port announces construction start

The release establishes the active modernization workfront, scope, grant and baseline completion expectation without replacing later closeout evidence.

Source

PW 23-10 award is recorded

The Port selected American Construction after its USD 22,472,328.83 bid ranked first of four, establishing the prime commercial baseline for PW 23-10.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Filed Notice of Completion and Port acceptance
  • Final dredged quantity versus the 22,000-cubic-yard baseline
  • Accepted -35-foot MLLW bathymetry and navigation release
  • Subtitle D disposal manifests and clean-cover environmental closeout
  • Heavy-lift wharf pile, concrete and load acceptance
  • South Terminal repair quantities and defects closeout
  • Stormwater treatment and shore-power-enabling utility handover
  • American Construction change orders and final account
  • Malcolm Drilling completion filing and package status
  • Executed scope and acceptance evidence for the 30 named downstream companies

Reporting status

Delivery, confirmed confidence

Last checked 12 August 2026 across 12 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 12 August 2026 Cited sources 12

Sources and related records

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Project sources 12