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Army Corps Completes Bedrock Removal in the Kill Van Kull Channel

New York District
Published Aug. 28, 2013
Douglas Dixon, Marauders quarterback, runs the ball up the sideline with a block from teammate Jacob McFarland, running back, to gain the first down during an intramural flag football game at Bordelon Field, Dec. 4.

Douglas Dixon, Marauders quarterback, runs the ball up the sideline with a block from teammate Jacob McFarland, running back, to gain the first down during an intramural flag football game at Bordelon Field, Dec. 4.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has been deepening 38 miles of federal navigation channels in the New York Harbor to a depth of 50 feet.

Recently, the Army Corps completed bedrock removal in the Kill Van Kull Channel off of Bayonne, New Jersey.  The work was completed August 17th and required removal of bedrock through drilling and underwater blasting on the northern side of the Kill Van Kull channel off of Bayonne, New Jersey.  The work was performed for the purposes of enhancing navigational safety at this location in response to concerns brought to the Army Corps' attention by the navigational community. 

“The work performed in the Kill Van Kull was safely accomplished and closely monitored, as past similar work has been,” said Bryce Wisemiller, Project Manager.  “The Port of New York & New Jersey is a critical economic engine to the region, and this work was crucial to navigation safety allowing ships to safely maneuver in the channel bend.”

The Kill Van Kull is an important channel for the commerce of the region, providing a passage for marine traffic.  The Kill Van Kull has provided principal access for ocean-going container ships to the New York Container Terminal.

Deepening of the Arthur Kill Channel approaching the New York Container Terminal is now underway with work scheduled to be completed by 2014.  The Arthur Kill Channel deepening effort is one of the last construction elements as part of a more extensive harbor-dredging project to create safe and efficient channels for a larger class of vessels that will be calling at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The contract is cost-shared with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The overall $1.5B project to deepen the Port’s main navigational channel allows the Port to continue to accommodate larger, more modern ships from around the world.

The deepening provides a safe and economically efficient pathway for the newest generation of container ships calling on the Port of New York and New Jersey. The overall Harbor Deepening Project involves deepening the channels from the Ambrose Channel entrance to the Upper Bay and Newark Bay, providing access the Global Marine Terminal, New York Container Terminal, Port Newark, and Elizabeth Marine Terminal. 

The $1.6 billion project, cost shared with The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, was initiated prior to the announced improvements to the Panama Canal is expected to maintain the Port of New York and New Jersey’s position as a premiere port on the East Coast. The overall Harbor Deepening project consists of 17 contracts to deepen the navigation channels.  The Port is currently the largest container port on the East Coast, and through its major container terminals, waterborne cargo moves to all parts of the United States and throughout the world providing over 269,900 direct and indirect jobs, and $11.2 billion in personal income in port related activities to the states of New York and New Jersey. 

A U.S. Coast Guardsman stands at parade rest on the shoreline of Elizabeth, N.J. along the Arthur Kill Channel as a tug boat assists a container ship moor alongside the pier at the New York Container Terminal, Staten Island, N.Y. The deepening of the Arthur Kill Channel approaching the New York Container Terminal is now underway with work scheduled to be completed in 2014. (Photo: Vince Elias)