DESCRIPTION: This navigation asset consists of a channel 12 feet deep at Mean Lower Low Water, extending from deep water in Sandy Hook Bay to the first bend in Compton Creek with a width of 150 feet in the bay and 75 feet inside the mouth of the creek, and thence 8 feet deep and 75 feet wide to a point 1,000 feet upstream from the Main Street Bridge, with widening at bends. Length is approximately 2 miles.
AUTHORIZATION: The Shoal Harbor and Compton Creek Federal Navigation Project is authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1935 and modified in 1945 and 1954.
COMMERCE: This asset provides safe navigation in support of commercial and recreational marine interests, including the New York Waterways ferry service to Manhattan, NY at Belford, NJ. Annual fish landings valued at $2-$3 million are reported by the Belford Seafood Coop in recent years. Usage of this channel is estimated to be 8,700 trips per year.
BACKGROUND: The most previous maintenance dredging occurred during FY2022-23 with the removal of approximately 118,000 cubic yards of dredged sandy/silty material from the federal channel with the sandy material placed along Bayshore Waterfront Park and the silty material placed at a local upland Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) placement site in Belford, NJ.
STATUS: During FY2026, funding will provide for commonly performed Operations & Maintenance (O&M) work including monitoring of the channel shoaling conditions, coordination with the users, USCG and stakeholders; and production of an annual hydrographic condition survey, and publication of the Controlling Depth Report on the District’s website below.
https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Controlling-Depth-Reports/
CONTACT:
William T. Bruno
Asset / Project Manager
P: (917) 790-8516
Email: William.Bruno@usace.army.mil
26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278
New York, NY 10278
District Area: NJ #6