MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Federal officials say the winning bid for a new turning basin in the Mobile River came from an Illinois firm. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. of Oak Brook said it will do the work for about $24 million.

Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Patrick Robbins says work is set to begin in July and will last about nine months. It's being funded by federal stimulus money. Robbins says the Corps opened three bids Wednesday.

The project will take the river depth to 45 feet in a 1,550-foot-long, 870-foot wide swath between Pinto and Little Sand islands.

The project will reduce travel time for ships arriving at Mobile's new container port.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.