Repair work on a confined upland-placement site for dredged material at Fort Eustis is complete and ready for use.
The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the 70-acre Fort Eustis Dredge Material Management Area to handle material dug up from the Skiffes Creek Federal Navigation Channel, which allows vessels moored at Fort Eustis’ Third Port facility safe passage to and from the James River.
The Corps oversaw contractors who strengthened the dike configuration, which increased capacity at the site to store an additional 500,000 cubic yards of material.
Prior to the $3.7 million repair project, the site was nearing 90 percent capacity.
“Had the installation not been able to fund the repairs, they would have been forced to pay additional funding to have the material disposed at an off-site location, ” said Jon Jones, Norfolk District project manager.
Jones said that the repaired management area will offer considerable cost savings to the tax payers during future dredging cycles.
“During last year’s interim dredging activity, the material management area wasn’t available for use, and the cost to remove material and dispose of it at the Norfolk Ocean Disposal Site was $15 per cubic yard,” Jones added. “The cost to remove and dispose of material at the Fort Eustis Dredge Material Management Area will be $4.75 per cubic yard.”
The management area begins receiving material in roughly 30 days, when the Skiffes Creek navigation channel is scheduled for its next round of maintenance dredging.
The creek is expected to be dredged every 4 to 5 years, depending on shoaling rates.
Jones said that the project will take in new material until 2020-2021 when a new location will have to be identified for future dredging activities.
[mappress mapid=”22040″]