CHARLESTON HARBOR DEEPENING PROJECT RECEIVES CIVIL WORKS APPROVAL AND STUDY FUNDING

On June 25 the Charleston Harbor Post 45 Deepening Project went before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Review Board and received approval of the Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement.

After a 30-day review by state and local resource agencies the Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick will sign the Chief’s Report in September. The project still needs Congressional authorization and funding before the Corps can begin preconstruction engineering and design (PED) and construction phases.

In October 2014 the Charleston District released the Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement to the public which recommended deepening the federal channel portion of Charleston Harbor to 52 feet.

The Charleston Harbor Post 45 Deepening Project is the first project in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to go through the Corps’ new Civil Works Planning Process from start to finish. This has enabled the Charleston District to reduce the initial timeline estimate of five to eight years down to less than four years and reduce the initial estimated budget from $20 million to less than $12 million dollars. The Corps said this project will serve as a model for Civil Works projects around the world.

On July 1 the project received $1.3 million in funding for the PED phase which will finalize the design of the recommended modification to the federal channel including ship simulations finalizing cost estimates and generating plans and specifications.