Mike Hooks, Inc. in Westlake, LA won a $9.4 million firm-fixed price contract for maintenance dredging of Louisiana’s Calcasieu River and pass between mile 17.0 to mile 23. The contract includes optional dredging of the main channel between miles 23 and 26.5 and between miles 26.5 and 29.3, optional dredging of Devil’s Elbow, optional dredging of Clooney Island loop, and optional dredging of Coon Island channel, Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes, LA. Work is to be performed at Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes, LA with an estimated completion date of Feb 20/09. Bids were solicited via the web with 3 bids received by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District in New Orleans, LA (W912P8-08-C-0059)

The Calcasieu River is actually on the other side of the state from New Orleans, and matters most to the western port city of Lake Charles. Lake Charles is the 16th-largest seaport in the United States, the 4th-largest liner service seaport in the U.S. Gulf, and a major West Gulf container load center. The Calcasieu Ship Channel provides direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, and intersects the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway just north of Calcasieu Lake.