The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1948-09-03
Standard Corp.
Of New York Low
Bidder For Work

A tentative contract for the
dredging of the Pascagoula river
and ship channel was let to the
Standard Dredging Corporation
of New York by the Pascagoula
Port Commission and the United
States Engineers Tuesday at Mo
bile when sealed bids for the
project were opened.
The bid of the Standard Dredg-
ing Corporation was low among
five bids submitted, including
that of the U. S. Engineers, and
set the cost of dredging the river
and the ship channel at $516,100.
This figure also includes the con-
struetion of bikes and retaining
levees in connection with the e
claiming of a large area of land
on the west bank of the Pasca-
goula river.
Final details are scheduled to
be worked out at a conference at
the District Engineers office at
Mobile Friday. Routine approval
of the awarding of the project
will then have to be obtained
from the Chief Engineers office
at Washington before final
awarding of the contract is COM
pleted.
Bids Submitted
Bids submitted at Tuesdays
formal opening were as follows:
McWilliams Dredging Com
pany Of New Orleans, 1858, 900;
Jahncke Service, Inc, New Or
leans, 1851, 700; Atlantic, Gulf
and Pacific Dredging Co. of New
York, 648, 700; The US. Engineers
estimate on their own costs for
the work was set at $575,543.8 80.
On the basis of the Engineers
figures, the Standard Dredging
Company underbid them by more
than $50, 900. This is accounted
for by the fact that the success
full bidder has much more pow
erful equipment for the work
than is available to the u. S. En-
gineers. The Standard Company
also submitted a completion
date of 210 days.
The U. S. Engineers will han
die the dredging of Horn Island
Pass which will have to be done
with a hopper dredge. The esti-
mated cost of this work is $780,
600, bringing the estimated to-
tai cost of the project to $685.
100. To this will be added the
District U. S. Engineers costs
for supervision of the work,
which has not as yet been finally
decided.
The work on Horn Island Pass
will be done by the hopper
dredge Langfitt, which was built
at the ingalls, Shipyard for the
Engineers. The Langfitt is sched-
uled to start work on the deep
ening and widening of the Pass
on October 1st, officials of the
Engineers office said Tuesday.
She is expected to take from
three to four months to complete
the work.
Equipment in New Orleans
The Standard Dredging Cor
poration presently has equip
ment at New Orleans which will
be used on the work here. Actual
work on the project should be-
gin within three to four weeks.
Starting of the project will
successfully eliminate efforts of
many years to give to Pascagoula
and Jackson county a ship chan
mel of adequate depth for mod
ern cean going vessels and also
allow the ingalls, Shipbuilding
Corporation to bid on the larger
type of vessels being built in
American ShlpyardS.
The existing channel will be
dredged to a depth of 81 feet
and widened to 275 feet from the
LIN bridge to Horn Island Pass.
The pass will be dredged to a
depth of IS feet and widened to
325 feet. In addition a 1000-foot
ship turning basin will be
dredged in the river approx
mately opposite the present city
docks.
The Port Commission has re-
Gently completed the purchase
of land on the West bank of the
river from the L&N bridge ap-
proximately on mile south and
one mile deep.
Spells from the dredging will
be used to reclaim a large por-
ton Of this land and with re-
tanning levees build it up to ap-
proximately one mile south and
high tide. This land is TO be used
for industrial sites, and already
one prospective industry is plan
ming to build on the upper por-
ltion of il.