“This is just another example of the fantastic work the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does on a regular basis both in New York and across the nation,” said Col. Thomas Asbery, USACE’s New York District commander. “Our crews worked 24/7 to get this project done because it’s vital to the residents of this community. Our efforts to beneficially reuse the dredged material to restore this section of the Rockaway’s heavily eroded shorefront will provide additional coastal storm risk reduction benefits and increase resiliency in advance of hurricane season. I would like to thank our partners at the city, state, and federal levels for their enthusiasm and support of this project.” “For New Yorkers, summer means Rockaway Beach,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “That’s why I could not be happier to announce we will have the entire beach open in time for Memorial Day weekend.” “This project required the removal of 348,000 cubic yards,” said Semonite. “If you put that in a football field, it would be about 20 stories high. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and I couldn’t be prouder of our entire USACE team.” It took a month of round-the-clock sand-dredging to replenish the beach, not only for recreation and livelihoods. “This project will help protect those who live along the shoreline moreso from future storms that will likely come our way,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Milhorn, commander, USACE North Atlantic Division. The beaches were closed last year due to significant erosion in the wake of two back-to-back nor’easters in 2018, in an area still recovering from the effects of Superstorm Sandy. New York District awarded the contract for $10.7 million to Weeks Marine to perform needed maintenance dredging of the East Rockaway Inlet Federal Navigation Channel. The city contributed $2.7 million to pump the sand 2.5 miles farther west along Rockaway Beach in order to restore this section of the beaches, which experienced significant erosion as a result of storms. The work will also restore and ensure safe passage for both commercial and recreational vessel traffic through East Rockaway Inlet. The project’s success can be attributed to the Army Corps’ New York District partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation as well as significant cooperation at the state and federal levels.
NEW YORK DISTRICT PHOTO
NORTH ATL ANTIC DIVISION
Aerial view of work in progress, East Rockaway Beach, New York.
“The close relationship with the Army Corps and New York City has been phenomenal in the process of completing this project,” said Alexander Gregory, project manager, New York District. “We are even more excited about the prompt turnaround [and that] the contractor was able to complete the project before the start of hurricane season.” In August 2019, Semonite signed the Chief’s Report for the Atlantic Coast of New York East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay Hurricane Sandy Reformulation Study – a crucial milestone for the proposed project. This report will authorize the construction, at 100 percent federal cost, of new erosion control features, such as jetties or groins, additional beach fill and reinforced dunes, as well as flood risk reduction features on both the Atlantic and bayside shoreline of the Rockaway peninsula. The plan also calls for increased beach berm with 1.6 million cubic yards of sand for initial placement, the extension of five groins already in place, and the construction of 13 new groins – all designed to help reduce the risk from future coastal storms and provide additional resiliency for the residents of this community. n
USACE, PORT OF VIRGINIA RAMP UP NORFOLK HARBOR DEEPENING EFFORTS BY VINCE LIT TLE, Nor folk District
T
he U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Virginia Port Authority are proceeding with design measures to expand Norfolk Harbor’s shipping channels, which will improve navigation and energize the national, state, and local economy.
The “Wider, Deeper, Safer” dredging project will deepen the Inner Harbor channels to 55 feet, Chesapeake Bay’s Thimble Shoal Channel to 56 feet, and the Atlantic Ocean Channel to 59 feet. The Thimble Shoal Channel will also be widened up to 1,400 feet in select areas, allowing for ultra-large container vessel two-way traffic. 41
