USACE Vicksburg District awards $9.1 million emergency contract for Natchez National Cemetery stabilization project

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District recently awarded a $9.1 million emergency contract for a stabilization project at Natchez National Cemetery.

District leadership worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and city officials to expedite the project after high levels of erosion were discovered in the south and west reaches of the property. This effort will secure the integrity of the cemetery’s bluff from significant erosion incidents in the future to allow the cemetery to remain open for years to come. 

“This is a great example of a project design team in action,” said Col. Robert Hilliard, Vicksburg District Commander. “We partner, and we deliver. My sincerest appreciation goes to each person who had a hand in ensuring this contract was awarded so quickly to meet emerging needs.”

The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022.

“Awarding this contract is a major milestone for the Natchez National Cemetery project” said senior project manager Jared Minor. “All USACE projects are important, but stabilizing the bluff along hallowed ground provided us the opportunity to honor the men and women who served and sacrificed for our country. It’s a national shrine, and this project will ensure it remains sitting safely above the river for decades to come.”  

Established in 1866, Natchez National Cemetery is overseen by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and currently has 8,783 interments. 

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.