Army Corps awards 3rd harbor deepening contract

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The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded the third dredging construction contract for the Charleston Harbor deepening project to Norfolk Dredging Co.

The $124 million contract covers the lower harbor to Wando Welch Terminal, and will involve the removal of more than 11 million cubic yards of material, according to the Army Corps. S.C. Ports Authority COO Barbara Melvin said it will also widen the turn basin by about 200 feet to 1,650 feet.

The harbor deepening project began with dredging the entrance channel in February 2018. The entrance channel is being deepened to 54 feet and the lower harbor to Wando Welch Terminal portion will be deepened to 52 feet. Charleston Harbor will be the deepest port on the East Coast when the project is completed in 2021.

“This project is vitally important to ensuring long-term growth in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast,” said S.C. Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome in a news release.

Future dredging work involves deepening from the lower harbor up the Cooper River to the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal, currently under construction on the former Navy Base in North Charleston.

“The Charleston District team has been working diligently with the South Carolina Ports Authority on this project for the last 10 years, and we’re proud to see the construction progressing,” said Lt. Col. Rachel Honderd, Charleston District commander, in a news release.