The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District has awarded a $13.5 million contract to Norfolk Dredging Company of Chesapeake (VA) for dredging the Delaware River main channel.
Work will involve dredging approximately 1.6 million cubic yards of sediment from portions of the Marcus Hook and New Castle Ranges of the Delaware River main shipping channel, reported the Corps.
The project is expected to begin in early December and be completed in the winter of 2019.
During the works, approximately 1.3 million cubic yards of material will be dredged from the channel as part of routine maintenance dredging and another 300,000 cubic yards of material will be dredged from the Marcus Hook anchorage as part of the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening project.
USACE is deepening the main channel from 40 to 45 feet to provide for more efficient transportation of containerized, dry and liquid bulk, breakbulk, RO/RO, and project cargoes to and from the Delaware River ports.
The deepening project is expected to be complete in 2019 and is a joint effort between the Army Corps and PhilaPort (formerly Philadelphia Regional Port Authority).