AUTHORIZATION: Rivers and Harbors Act of 1910 (P.L. 61-264), modified in 1930 (P.L. 71-520).
DESCRIPTION: This navigation asset is at the boundary between the States of Connecticut and New York, along the tidal mouth of the Byram River, which empties into Long Island Sound, about 27 miles by water northeast of the Battery, New York City; and provides for a channel 12 feet deep and 150 feet wide, from Long Island Sound to Fox Island, 10 feet deep, 100 feet wide from Fox Island to 900 feet below Mill Street Bridge, and 3 feet deep and 175 to 100 feet wide, from the latter point to 100 feet below Mill Street Bridge with a total length of about 1.7 miles. This asset also includes a turning basin opposite the steamboat landing, a breakwater of about 1,100 feet at Bryan Point, and an anchorage, 12 feet deep, just west of the breakwater and adjacent to the channel. Fenders opposite Fox Island were deauthorized on August 5, 1977.
COMMERCE: In 2021, the annual commercial freight traffic reported for this this navigation asset was approximately 75,000 tons, and consisted of fuel oil. The Village of Port Chester owns several bulkheads, which are used as public landings for recreational boating. Several boatyards along the Byram River are equipped with marine railways, which are available for recreational users.
BACKGROUND: The channel was last maintenance dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Fiscal Year (FY) 1990, when approximately 41,000 cubic yards (CY) of dredged material was removed and disposed of at the former Mud Dump Site in the Atlantic Ocean.
STATUS: This navigation asset is currently in caretaker status. Production of an annual hydrographic channel condition survey, and publication of a controlling depth report on the District’s website (https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Controlling-Depth-Reports/) is scheduled for FY2024.
CONTACT:
Alexander F. Gregory
Asset / Project Manager
P: (917) 790-8427
Email: alexander.f.gregory@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
26 Federa1 Plaza
New York, NY 10278
http://www.nan.usace.army.mil
District Area: CT # 4; NY # 16