Charleston District: FY13 In the Numbers (USA)

Charleston District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, has introduced a list of plans and programs that they have undertaken in fiscal year 2013.

This announcement includes our big accomplishments and also the full list of everything we did for our customers throughout the fiscal year 2013,” they stated.

Civil Works

Charleston Harbor

• Dredging:

o Dredged 630,000 cubic yards of material from lower Charleston Harbor. The contract was awarded to Great Lakes for $5.6 million;

o Dredged 1.97 million cubic yards of material from upper Charleston Harbor. The contract was awarded to Southern Dredging for $6.5 million;

o Presented at Savannah District’s Annual Savannah Harbor meeting on the methods that they use to operate and maintain the disposal areas in the Charleston Harbor;

o Project management, navigation and construction division toured phase one, stage one of the South Carolina State Ports Authority’s construction of the Port of Charleston’s future 280-acre Navy Base Terminal scheduled for completion in 2019 to coincide with the planned harbor deepening.

Charleston Harbor Post 45 Feasibility Study

• Completed field work associated with an assessment of potential cultural resources within the study area. Coastal Carolina University used various boat-mounted instrumentation to survey the bottom of the harbor in an effort to detect potential cultural resources that could be impacted by dredging associated with the alternatives being studied. Results indicate that no sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places exist within the footprint of the alternatives being considered;

• Held a public meeting to update the public on the progress being made on the feasibility study since the initial public meeting in December 2011. The meeting featured displays on the economics, environmental and engineering aspects of the study. USACE team members were available to discuss the study and answer questions from the public;

• Completed collection of wash probe data in the entrance channel. Wash probing is a technique using a concentrated jet of water to explore the sediments below the existing channel bottom for the purpose of detecting the presence of rock or other consolidated material within the range of depth alternatives being considered. Athena Technologies, Inc. performed the majority of the work while on a shrimp boat from the McClellanville fleet due to its ability to handle the sea conditions offshore;

• Completed core drilling in the Charleston Harbor entrance channel to obtain rock core samples to test for strength. 49 cores were taken from different locations in the entrance channel and were sent to the Environmental Materials Unit Lab in Marietta, Ga. for testing. The rock core samples were taken using a lift-boat, which can lift the deck of the vessel above the water and waves, making it easier to take the samples. The results from testing will reduce the uncertainty surrounding the quantity, quality (strength) and location of the rock that exists in the entrance channel;

• Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx visited the Port of Charleston to talk about the importance of infrastructure projects and especially maritime infrastructure. In addition to addressing a crowd of 200 elected officials and citizens at the Columbia Street terminal, they toured the Wando terminal and received an update on the Post 45 Feasibility Study. Other attendees to the event included SC Gov. Nikki Haley, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Rep. Mark Sanford, and City of Charleston Mayor Joe Riley;

• Gov. Nikki Haley boarded the Charleston District’s Survey Vessel Evans for a tour of Charleston Harbor and to receive a briefing on the Post 45 Feasibility Study;

• Participated in the SC International Trade Conference by giving presentations on the Corps’ role in Post 45.

More info

[mappress]

Press Release, November 7, 2013