Posted on October 27, 2026
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District will start work on a project to improve New Haven Harbor in Connecticut this week.
New Haven is the largest port of call in Long Island Sound, the third-largest port in New England by tonnage, and Connecticut’s busiest port. It supports the movement of petroleum products, home-heating oil, aggregates, equipment, and scrap metal.
“New Haven Harbor is being modernized to strengthen the safe, efficient movement of essential goods and energy resources throughout Connecticut and the Northeast,” said Craig Martin, senior project manager with the USACE New England District. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Connecticut Port Authority, the project’s non-Federal sponsor, are advancing improvements that will allow larger, more efficient vessels to use the harbor while improving vessel maneuverability and reducing delays.”
The work has been coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard, Connecticut Port Authority, New Haven Port Authority, federal and state regulating agencies, port pilots and stakeholders of the harbor. Great Lakes Dock and Dredge Company, the USACE contractor awarded the job, is expected to complete the project over two dredge seasons (a five-month period between October to March) starting in October 2026 and running through the beginning of March 2028.
The New Haven Harbor Improvement Project will modernize the approximately 5.5-mile New Haven Harbor federal navigation project serving deep-water terminals at the head of navigation. Planned improvements include:
- Deepening the entrance channel, main channel, maneuvering area, and turning basin from -35 feet to -40 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW);
- Extending and widening the entrance channel from 500 feet to 600 feet outside the breakwaters;
- Widening the channel bend between the breakwaters from 560 feet to 800 feet;
- Widening the main channel from 400 feet to 500 feet inside the harbor; and
- Optimizing the turning basin for more efficient use by larger vessels.
“The improvements will support energy production with optimized delivery of critical petroleum products such as gasoline, jet fuel, and heating oil as well as commodities such as road salt, steel and chemicals vital to our nations industry,” said Martin.
The project has an additional benefit. Approximately 1.7 million cubic yards of dredged material, nearly 40 percent of the total, will be used to support aquatic ecosystem improvement of shellfish and reef habitat, including filling of relic borrow pits that have existed in the harbor since the 1950’s.
“The project will improve navigational and ship handling safety in New Haven Harbor and strengthen the regional economy by increasing the harbor’s capacity to serve larger vessels and will reinforce New Haven Harbor’s role as a strategic commercial port and energy hub for Connecticut and the Northeast,” said Michael O’Connor, executive director of the Connecticut Port Authority, and the project’s non-federal sponsor.
The project will deepen and widen key portions of the federal navigation channel while incorporating beneficial use of suitable dredged material.
