Dredging Roundup / NORTH AMERICA Jul/Aug 2015
PORT OF REDWOOD CITY CALIFORNIA
The Port of Redwood City California announced on June 27 that phase two of a $12.8 million maintenance dredging project was underway.
RE Staite Engineering Inc. was awarded the dredging contract by the Corps of Engineers last October. In phase one about 300000 cubic yards of material was dredged from the channel deepening it to 28 feet. The dredged material was deposited at an approved site near Alcatraz Island according to port officials.
Phase two involves removing about 3500 cubic yards of material from a lagoon. A small barge (Aquamog) in the lagoon scoops up material and puts it into another small barge. When full that barge will off-load the sediment onto a flat area on shore at the northern end of the lagoon.
The port says that by the time phase three is completed sometime this winter the channel will be dredged to its authorized depth of 30 feet for the first time since December 2009.
SHARK RIVER MONMOUTH COUNTY NEW JERSEY
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) said on July 9 that it is preparing to advertise the Shark River navigation maintenance dredging project.
This dredging project in Monmouth County New Jersey will require dewatering technology.
Anyone wishing to bid on this project must be currently pre-qualified with the NJDOT under Discipline 12 – “Dredging.”
NJDOT said this project will be available for review on Bid Express by August.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Baykeeper an environmental group said on July 2 that it had filed suit in federal court to stop regular maintenance dredging of San Francisco Bay by the Corps of Engineers of 11 navigation channels claiming it will erode the shore and put endangered fish at risk according to Courthouse News. The group wants to halt trailing suction hopper dredging.
The group seeks a writ compelling the San Francisco Region of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to set aside its approval of the project and immediately halt dredging.
Three million to six million cubic yards of material must be dredged every year to maintain navigation in and around San Francisco Bay. The Corps which is directly responsible for about 70 percent of that dredges six channels annually and five channels less frequently.
The project’s first five years would dredge up to 12.4 million cubic yards in San Francisco Bay and up to another 2.5 million cubic yards in the San Francisco Harbor Main Ship Channel west of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Half of the dredged material is to be placed in sites in the Bay and half at the San Francisco Deep Ocean Disposal Site about 55 miles off the Golden Gate.
PORT ST. JOHN CANADA
Canadian politicians and local officials of gathered in Port St. John New Brunswick – the largest port in eastern Canada – on July 8 to announce C$68.3 million (about $55 million U.S.) in Canadian federal funding for a project to modernize Port Saint John’s Westside terminals under the National Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund.
As part of the port improvement project the port’s main channel will be deepened from 8.4 meters (just under 28 feet) to 10 meters (32 feet).
The project’s total cost estimated at C$205 million ($161.2 million) involves improving and consolidating the Rodney and Navy Island terminals to allow the Port to accommodate larger vessels. New operational systems and technology will also be installed to enhance cargo-handling capabilities.
Port Saint John is a year-round deep water port that handles an average of 28 million tons of cargo annually.
This announcement was the first under the National Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund in New Brunswick.
