Southern Contracting Awarded $23 Million Army Deal to Rebuild Mississippi Coast

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Southern Contracting LLC a $23 million firm-fixed-price contract for beach and dune restoration in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, with work due by May 4, 2027.

First Published: August 7, 2026, 1:21 PM ET

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI — Southern Contracting LLC, a Biloxi, Mississippi, heavy-civil builder, received a $23 million Army contract to restore beach and dune ecosystems along the Mississippi coast, as announced on war.gov.

The firm-fixed-price award covers coastwide beach and dune restoration in Bay St. Louis, with an estimated completion date of May 4, 2027. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, solicited bids over the internet and received nine offers. Fiscal 2022 civil construction funds covered $14,949,853, and fiscal 2026 cost-share money from Hancock County Rivers and Harbors added $8 million.

Southern Contracting has served federal and municipal construction markets across the Southeast since 2005, specializing in heavy civil work that includes pump stations, concrete structures, roadways, bridges and water treatment plants, according to southcon.us. Its clients include the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Army Corps of Engineers, according to southcon.us.

Coastal residents and property owners stand to benefit most from the work. Restored dunes and beaches buffer storm surge, protect roads and homes behind the shoreline, and preserve habitat, while taxpayers and the local cost-share partner shoulder the bill. The blend of federal and county money ties the outcome to Hancock County’s own budget as well as the federal treasury.

Bay St. Louis sits within a coastline repeatedly battered by hurricanes, and beach nourishment has become a recurring line item for Gulf Coast communities. The Mississippi shore absorbed catastrophic damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and rebuilding coastal defenses has drawn federal dollars in the two decades since. Dune restoration projects along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts routinely run into the tens of millions of dollars, placing this award in a familiar range for shoreline work.

For the average reader, the contract shows how federal infrastructure spending reaches small communities through local contractors. Beach and dune restoration lowers flood risk, which can affect insurance costs and the value of coastal property for households far from Washington.

This has happened before. The award marks the first contract to Southern Contracting in 2026 and the sixth Department of Defense contract in Mississippi this year. It ranks below the company’s record of $30.3 million and sits within the 2026 Army portfolio, above the year-to-date minimum of $9.1 million.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, will oversee performance and decisions on scope or schedule. The next milestone is the estimated completion date of May 4, 2027, and no earlier decision point has been announced.

Gulf shoreline restoration has long followed disaster in this region, as it has before. The federal government committed more than $120 billion to Gulf Coast recovery after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, according to war.gov, funding levees, pump stations and shoreline repairs across Mississippi and Louisiana. Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and ranked among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. The rebuilding that followed reshaped the coastal construction industry that firms like Southern Contracting now serve.

This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Southern Contracting LLC, in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $22,999,774. It is also the 6th Department of Defense contract awarded in Mississippi during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to Southern Contracting LLC, whose record stands at $30,347,517, 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 6 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 7, 2026.