Over its 75 year history Cottrell Contracting has performed literally hundreds of beach nourishment projects.  With over 65% of the United States population living within ten miles of a coastal area the protection of life and property are paramount.  The most cost effective and efficient way to provide this protection is through beach nourishment.  By using a variety of specialized equipment, both land based and marine, Cottrell is able to provide the right tool for the right job.  Cottrell currently has the capacity of pumping sand from any inland borrow site up to eight miles to be placed on the beach.  This capability will be further enhanced in the near future with the addition to the existing fleet of a new dredge currently under construction.  This dredge is being built to ABS standards that will allow it to operate in an ocean environment, thus enhancing Cottrell’s capability to mine sand from either inland or offshore sites.  Another important part of a successful beach project is having skilled experienced personnel that can effectively manage a beach nourishment project.  With a corporate employment service average of over 15 years Cottrell has in its employ personnel who have been involved in many beach jobs and know how to get it done right the first time.

No matter if it’s the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway, Los Angeles Harbor or the Mississippi River, all of America’s water-born highways, like their land based cousins, must be maintained.  This process involves periodic maintenance dredging of these projects to maintain their congressionally authorized depth.  Cottrell Contracting has been involved in the maintenance dredging business for over 75 years.  Specializing in the hydraulic cutterhead method, Cottrell has completed literally thousands of projects for a variety of owners over its history.  By having available to it dredges that vary in size from 8” to 20” Cottrell Contracting has the right tool for any maintenance project, whether it be a relatively shallow waterway project or a deep harbor or a shipping channel job, Cottrell has the people, equipment and experience to do the job on time and in a first-class manner.

More and more often the question is being asked “In what way can we beneficially use dredge material from a project?”  The answers to this question are varied and many.  One answer is to use dredge material to create new intertidal habitat that will enhance the environment.  By pumping material dredged from a navigation channel to a specific elevation within a confined area, needed vegetation can be planted thus establishing a marsh or some other type of natural growth.  Cottrell has completed many of these types of projects and, in fact, was awarded the prestigious Army Corps of Engineers Chief’s Award in 1994 for the restoration of the Kennelworth Marsh on the Anacostia River that runs through our nation’s capital.  By having experienced personnel as well as the highly specialized equipment necessary to undertake these demanding projects Cottrell can ensure the project will be built right the first time.