Port of New York/New Jersey’s main channel deepening project reaches completion

The $2.1 million project to deepen the port’s main navigation channel was shared between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Thursday that the deepening of the port’s main navigation channel is complete.
   The project, which was shared between the Army Corps and the port authority, started prior to the construction of the new set of locks at the Panama Canal.
   From 1989 to 2016, 38 miles of federal navigation channels in the New York Harbor have been deepened to a navigable depth.
   “The mega project provides a safe and economically efficient pathway for the newest generation of containerships calling in the Port of New York and New Jersey,” the Army Corps and port authority said in a joint statement.
   The Army Corps noted the port stayed open to vessel traffic during the deepening, even during periods of blasting.
   “This $2.1 billion project was executed in a manner that allowed for over $800 million in savings and all the dredge material was used beneficially to enhance the environment,” said Col. David Caldwell, the Army Corps’ New York district commander.
   For example, about 900,000 cubic yards of sands and glacial tills from the Port Jersey Channel was used to restore shallow water fish habitat in an unused navigation channel south of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, N.J.
   “For almost 20 years, we have recognized the changes happening in the shipping industry, and the necessity to deepen our port channels to handle new-panamax ships and remain the major hub port on the eastern seaboard,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.