Corps of Engineers modernizes through building infrastructure

WASHINGTON - To better maintain 12,000 miles of navigable, commercial waterways, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is changing the way it manages dredge contracts.

USACE recently announced the Enterprise Dredging Delivery Center, which will replace the traditional form of overseeing dredging in individual contracts. By October 2027, the center will create an integrated national program to supervise 190 dredge projects, become more responsive and predictable, and provide higher value to taxpayers.

USACE oversees much of the nation's dredging projects - removing stones and debris from the bottom of rivers, making them passable for commercial vessels. Under the former method, it faced scheduling conflicts, duplicated efforts and higher production costs.

During an Association of the United States Army annual meeting and exposition discussion in Washington, Oct. 13, Army Civil Works and USACE leaders said the command is modernizing by building infrastructure and reducing paperwork.

USACE provides safeguards as part of the Coastal Texas Project. This multibillion-dollar effort shields Houston's refineries from natural disasters through large-scale flood-control projects, including the Galveston Bay Barrier system and a series of floodgates.

It also manages the Houston Ship Channel, a 52-mile network that extends from Galveston Bay to Houston. Leaders want to widen the channel to make waterway traffic safer and less congested.

"Building infrastructure, not paperwork, is the civil works part of the Army's modernization effort," said D. Lee Forsgren, senior official performing the duties of assistant secretary of the Army for civil works.

"Those inland waterway systems and those ports are our arteries of commerce," he continued. "We cannot operate as a nation without those arteries of commerce open, and we're finding ways to get through those artificial limitations."

USACE is leveraging super intelligence, 3D printing and physics-based geo-environmental modeling to build virtual testing. Forsgren said the command is focused on projects with the greatest impact on the nation, including flood control around Houston and the Gulf Coast.

He explained that if a catastrophic storm hit Houston and the surrounding area, it could plunge the U.S. economy into disaster, as the region is home to 55% of U.S. petroleum and produces 15.3% of the nation's crude oil refining capacity, which could send the economy and oil industry spiraling.

The U.S. Gulf region produces about 50% of the nation's jet fuel and 50% of its gasoline production, and about 65% of its gravel exports travel through navigable U.S. waterways.

"We are the best people to protect those high-value assets in and around Houston," Forsgren said. "We're focusing our people and our best efforts on those projects that have the greatest value to the country."

USACE has also reorganized the business models where its districts operate.

"Civil works function isn't a bolt-on; it's not an afterthought," said Army Lt. Gen.

William "Butch" Graham Jr., 56th Chief of Engineers and USACE commanding general. "It's an essential part of both national defense and the American economy, and this mission has been entrusted to the Army for over 200 years."

Finally, USACE has focused on "getting the engineering right" by determining accurate project costs and avoiding expense overruns during construction.

For instance, Forsgren said the command has been working with other government agencies, such as the Interior Department, to become more efficient and cost-effective in dredging.

Ports in Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, have a two-week window and require two dredges to keep those ports operational. Forsgren said if USACE could field more advanced technology, one dredge could achieve the same results.

Earlier this year, it introduced a new feasibility study decision framework to quickly address core water resource challenges and deliver water and civil works solutions to Congress. The risk-informed, aligned, proportional, iterative and decisive framework, or RAPID, enables faster decision-making.

"[RAPID] is a way of getting after the big projects across broad areas and looking at what those elements are that we can do first, that we can get the engineering right early," Forsgren said. "And to get after building those things first that actually provide the most benefit to the public."