Army Corps awards N.B. dredging contract

A San Diego-based engineering contractor will begin dredging in the Newport Harbor in late April, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday.

R.E. Staite Engineering, the low bidder for the project, was awarded the $6.3-million contract, said Greg Fuderer, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles Division.

An exact start date had not been selected as of Friday.

“The city is excited to start this dredging project after nearly 10 years of planning,” Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller wrote in an email. “Our new goal to dispose the sediment at the [Port of Long Beach] is June 30, and so far, it looks like we’ll be able to meet that deadline, but the schedule will still be tight.”

Miller said earlier in March that the dredging project would likely continue into the summer boating season.

R.E. Staite did not return calls Friday.

— Sarah Peters

Twitter: @speters01