Posted on January 23, 2024
In partnership with the City of Newport News, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District has set a date to begin dredging the Deep Creek Navigation Channel. Dredging is expected to begin in the entrance channel Feb. 15 and start making way to the harbor. The work is set to be completed by mid-June.
Norfolk District awarded the contract in the amount of $4.28 million to Hampton Roads Leasing, Inc., also known as W3 Marine, which is the local company that performed the dredging maintenance in this channel the last two times it occurred in 2003 and 1996.
“Receiving the necessary funding to restore navigation to the Deep Creek federal navigation channel is a direct result of a strong partnership and close collaboration with the City of Newport News,” said Keith Lockwood, Norfolk District’s Chief of Water Resources Division.
The Deep Creek channel is a federal shallow draft navigation project that supports commercial and recreational activity to and from the Deep Creek Harbor from the James River. The entrance of the Deep Creek Navigation Channel begins in the James River and continues upstream into the Deep Creek tributary in Newport News.
This project consists of an entrance channel authorized to 8 feet deep and 100 feet wide, extending from the James River for approximately 9,000 feet to the harbor; and a harbor 8 feet deep, 400-740 feet wide and 1,940 feet long, totaling about 20 acres in area. Approximately 130,000 cubic yards of dredged material is expected to be removed and deposited to the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA) located in Portsmouth, Va.
“We are grateful for our partnership with United States Army Corps of Engineers,” said Alan K. Archer, Newport News City Manager. “Supporting our waterways and the completion of this project is vital to providing greater recreational boating and commercial fishing opportunities for our residents.”
This project may result in limited boating access and general increased traffic due to the contractor using the necessary equipment to collect and transport the dredged material. This may also impact some piers and docks within the harbor that may require temporary access restrictions as the dredge work passes those areas within the harbor.
