The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District has been involved in constructing one of the largest civil works navigation channel deepening projects in the United States in the Port of New York and New Jersey under different project authorizations covering different depths in different channels, and construction of deeper federal navigation channels in the Port to 50 feet.
Due to the size and scale of the project, construction is being accomplished under separate construction contracts, including the Ambrose Channel deepening contract. The Army Corps New York District deepened the Ambrose channel to ensure safe navigation for container ships entering and exiting the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The Ambrose Channel is the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Ambrose Channel is part of the Lower New York Bay located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook, New Jersey and Breezy Point, Queens, New York.
The Ambrose Channel connects to the Anchorage Channel at the Narrows which connects to channels leading to main container terminals within the Port to accommodate the fleet of larger and deeper draft container ships. The Ambrose Channel terminates at Ambrose Anchorage, just south of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
The Army Corps is also actively supporting broader initiatives to clean-up and restore the environment within the Harbor aimed at creating a world-class harbor and estuary, both economically and ecologically. In addition to the deepening effort, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has also partnered on a dual purpose project to build marsh islands at Jamaica Bay, N.Y.