The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has just announced a contract award of $24 million for the Miami-Dade ecosystem restoration project.

According to USACE, this construction project located in the south Florida comes as a part of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) Phase 1, L-31 East Flow-way scheme.

The contract was awarded to Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., based in Sunrise, Fla., with the estimated project completion date in late 2024.

The purpose of the BBCW project is to rehydrate coastal wetlands and reduce damaging point-source freshwater discharge to Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park.

The project will restore wetland and estuarine habitats and divert an average of 59 percent of the annual coastal structure discharge into freshwater and saltwater wetlands instead of direct discharges to Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park.

The BBCW Phase 1 project, located in southeast Miami-Dade County, incorporates the Deering Estate, the Cutler Wetlands, the L-31E Flow-way/North Canal, and recreational features.

BBCW Phase 1 construction is being accomplished by the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and includes seven pump stations, approximately 10 culverts reconnecting wetlands, approximately three miles of spreader canals, and the plugging of 2,500 feet of mosquito control ditches.

Additionally, the Phase 1 project area covers approximately 3,761 acres, with the northern boundary at Deering Estates and the southern boundary at the Turkey Point Power Plant.