DESCRIPTION: This navigation asset extends from deep water northwest of Sandy Hook, through Lower New York Bay to Raritan Bay, to Perth Amboy, thence through Arthur Kill, Lower Newark Bay, and Kill Van Kull in the Upper New York Bay, along the approximately boundary line between the States of New York and New Jersey. This asset contains 31 miles of navigation channel, including channel 37 feet deep in rock and 35 feet deep in soft material, 600 feet wide through Lower New York Bay, Raritan Bay into the Arthur Kill to a point 1,000 feet north of Smith Creek, except of the vicinities of Seguine Point and Ward Point where the width is 800 feet; thence 500 feet wide, to a point 1,000 feet south of the location of former Buckwheat Island; thence 50 feet deep (52 feet in rock), 500 to 600 feet wide passing north of Shooters Island and protected by a dike on its northern side of the junction of the channel into Newark Bay; thence into the Kill Van Kull 800 feet wide to Constable Hook; thence 1,300 feet wide from a point opposite the east end of Constable Hook to a point near the intersection along the New Jersey Pierhead line and thence 3,070 feet wide through Kill Van Kull to Upper New York Bay with suitable easing of the bends and junctions.
AUTHORIZATION: Rivers and Harbors Act of 1922, modified 1935, 1950, 1965, and 1985; Water Resources Development Act of 1986, modified 1990, 1992, 1999 and 2004.
COMMERCE: In 2021, the annual commercial freight traffic reported for this this navigation asset was approximately 124 million tons, compared to a five-year (2017-2021) annual average of approximately 120 million tons, and consisted primarily of crude petroleum and various petroleum products (gasoline, fuel oils), and to a lesser extent chemicals (industrial alcohols), crude materials (salt, sand & gravel), primary manufactured goods (cement & concrete), food and farm products, and manufactured products. This navigation asset specifically supports numerous terminals, including one major oil refinery (Phillips 66 – Bayway), five commercial terminals (petroleum products & dry bulk materials), and the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (300,000 barrel capacity), which all handle deep-draft commercial traffic.
BACKGROUND: Maintenance dredging of this asset was last completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in November 2023 when approximately 475,000 cubic yards (CY) of dredged material was removed from the waterway between Seguine Point to Outerbridge Crossing and beneficially used in the Atlantic Ocean at the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS). Prior to that, maintenance dredging was completed in September 2021, when approximately 210,000 CY of dredge material was removed from the Arthur Kill waterway and beneficially used at state-approved upland sites. Prior to that, maintenance dredging completed in November 2020, when approximately 500,000 CY of dredged material was removed from the Perth Amboy Anchorage and beneficially used at the HARS.
STATUS: In FY2024, commonly performed Operations & Maintenance (O&M) work includes expected solicitation and award of a contract (subject to availability of funds), for maintenance dredging within the Raritan Bay waterway of this channel, in the fall of 2024. Production of annual hydrographic channel condition surveys, and publication of controlling depth reports on the District’s website (https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Controlling-Depth-Reports/) is also 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 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
District area NY # 11; NJ #'s 6, 7, 8