Michigan Dredging Firm Wins Record $20 Million Army Corps Contract
Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc. of Cheboygan, Michigan, won a $20 million firm-fixed-price deal for Toledo Harbor and River dredging, with work due by August 2, 2028, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.
CHEBOYGAN, MICHIGAN — Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., a Cheboygan, Michigan, marine builder, won its largest contract on record to dredge Toledo Harbor and River for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as announced on war.gov.
The firm-fixed-price award carries a ceiling of $20 million and an estimated completion date of August 2, 2028, with work locations and funding set with each order, the Army said. Bids drew a single response after solicitation over the internet.
The deal marks the company’s first Department of Defense contract of 2026 and the largest ever awarded to Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., surpassing a prior record of $16 million, according to firestore:contracts. It is the 29th Defense Department contract awarded in Michigan this year.
The company, which operates as Ryba Marine Construction Co., specializes in marine construction for the federal government and often bids as a small disadvantaged business, according to Google. The single bid received signals a narrow field of qualified dredging contractors on the Great Lakes.
Dredging keeps Toledo Harbor navigable for the freighters that move iron ore, coal and grain across Lake Erie. Shippers and port operators benefit when channels stay deep enough to carry full loads, while sediment buildup forces vessels to lighten cargo and raises costs. Taxpayers fund the work through the Army Corps civil works program.
The award reaches a modest tier within the Army’s 2026 portfolio. It sits between the service’s year-to-date minimum of $9.1 million and its maximum of nearly $53.9 billion, according to firestore:contracts. Against that range, a $20 million dredging deal ranks among the smaller line items, yet it exceeds anything the Cheboygan firm had previously secured.
For the average reader in the Toledo region, harbor dredging protects jobs tied to shipping and steel while guarding against flooding and disrupted commerce along the Maumee River corridor. Deeper channels also lower the per-ton cost of goods that pass through one of Lake Erie’s busiest ports.
This has happened before for the company in a different form. Morrish-Wallace, doing business as Ryba, protested a separate Army Corps award last year and prevailed, according to highergov.com. The Government Accountability Office sustained the protest on February 5, 2026, after finding that a rival’s failure to acknowledge a solicitation amendment was a material defect rather than a minor informality, according to highergov.com.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo, New York, serves as the contracting activity under identifier W912P4-26-D-A005. The Army did not announce a date for the first task order or the initial dredging window.
Great Lakes harbor maintenance has long turned on contract disputes as happened before. In the 2025 West Dickinson Offloading Platform competition, E.C. Korneffel Co. of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, submitted the low bid of $1.895 million, while Ryba came second at $2.307 million, according to highergov.com. After the GAO sustained Ryba’s challenge, the case reshaped how the Detroit District weighed amendment acknowledgments, a reminder that a single procedural misstep can move millions of dollars between rival Michigan builders.
This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $20,000,000. It is also the 29th Department of Defense contract awarded in Michigan during 2026. This is the largest contract ever awarded to Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., surpassing the company’s previous record of $16,000,000, and it is notable within the Army portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Army portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,051,490 and maximum of $53,859,843,289. Overall, this award was announced among 13 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 3, 2026.
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