Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's Backlog Breaks the Billion-Dollar Mark

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has booked enough new business to put its dredging backlog above the billion-dollar mark. Thanks to 10 newly-awarded projects worth a combined $177 million, GLDD's backlog now stands at $1.1 billion - an impressive high-water mark for the publicly-listed company. 

GLDD is the nation's biggest dredging contractor, and it has a long history in the trade. It got its start in the 1890s as the Midwest industrialized, and it put its name on some of the highest-profile projects of the turn of the century. It has become the leader in the U.S. market, and has also been active in major projects abroad. 

Its latest awards include a beach nourishment project in Alabama; a coastal protection project at Fire Island; maintenance dredging on the Lower Mississippi and the Atchafalaya River; maintenance dredging for the entrance channel at the strategic Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay; beach nourishment at Cape May Inlet; and maintenance dredging at Southwest Pass at the mouth of the Mississippi. Many of the contracts contain options for further funded work. 

The project in Alabama will fix hurricane-related beach damage at Gulf State Park and the city of Orange Beach. The work will help protect the city's infrastructure, restore beach space for recreation, and foster conservation of local wildlife species. It is privately funded with FEMA's support and will begin towards the end of this year. 

“These projects bring dredging backlog to approximately $1.1 billion to date,” said GLDD president and CEO Lasse Petterson. “Great Lakes is pleased to add these important projects to our 2023 backlog of capital, coastal protection and maintenance work. Working on these projects allows Great Lakes to help support the overall improvement and resiliency of our country’s environment, coastlines, and infrastructure.”