The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) continues working on the historic project to deepen the Mississippi River Ship Channel (MRSC) to 50 feet. The USACE continues dredging to restore full channel dimensions (45 feet by 500 feet) of the MRSC on the Crossings Above New Orleans with the dustpan dredge WALLACE McGEORGE.

CUTTERHEAD DREDGE(S) WORKING MISSISSIPPI RIVER SHIP CHANNEL DEEPENING:

The cutterhead dredges listed below continue dredging on their contractual deepening assignments. The USACE intends to deepen the Ship Channel with a total of three dredge contracts, specifically the two cutterhead dredge contracts detailed below and the hopper dredge GLENN EDWARDS (Manson Construction).  The GLENN EDWARDS is scheduled to start dredging on the deepening contract by August 2021.

CAPTAIN FRANK: The industry cutterhead dredge CAPTAIN FRANK (Weeks Marine) officially commenced the historic project to deepen the Mississippi River Ship Channel to 50 feet on September 11, 2020. The cutterhead dredge E.W. ELLEFSEN temporarily replaced the CAPTAIN FRANK that is being repaired.  The E.W. ELLEFSEN is dredging at Mile 0.04 Above Head of Passes (AHP) on the channel deepening assignment from Mile 5.0 AHP to Mile 1.0 Below Head of Passes (BHP) on the western side of the channel. Weeks Marine was awarded Southwest Pass Cutterhead Dredge Rental Contract #1-2020 on September 3, 2020.

ROBERT M. WHITE: The ROBERT M. WHITE (Manson Construction) is dredging at Mile 10.89 BHP on assignment from Mile 9.0 BHP to Mile 15.0 BHP on the western side of the channel. The cutterhead is working under Southwest Pass Cutterhead Dredge Rental Contract #2-2020 that was awarded to Manson Construction on September 8, 2020.

CUTTERHEAD DREDGE(S) IN THE HOPPPER DREDGE DISPOSAL AREA (HDDA):

R.S. WEEKS: The cutterhead dredge R.S. WEEKS continues dredging operations in the HDDA. Weeks Marine has utilized multiple cutterhead dredges on this project and all material removed from the HDDA has been beneficially placed in the Pass A’Loutre Wildlife Management Area (PALWMA). The cutterhead dredges have beneficially utilized approximately 13.1 million cubic yards (mcy) of material removed from the HDDA to restore an estimated 1,040 acres.  When this project is completed a total of 15 mcy will have been removed from the HDDA and utilized to restore a total of approximately 1,200 acres in the PALWMA. The last update indicated there are approximately 500,000 cy of material left to be removed under this contract which should be completed by early December (2020).

DUSTPAN DREDGE(S) ON THE CROSSINGS ABOVE NEW ORLEANS:

The USACE continues working to restore full channel dimensions (45 feet by 500 feet) of the Ship Channel on the Crossings Above New Orleans with the dustpan dredges WALLACE McGEORGE.  The dredging on the Crossings for Fiscal Year 2020 is expected to complete soon.

HURLEY: The government dustpan dredge HURLEY completed dredging at Baton Rouge Front (Mile 231 AHP) this morning. The HURLEY started dredging on the Crossings on June 29, 2020 and was released from dredging on the Crossings today.

WALLACE McGEORGE: The industry dustpan dredge continues dredging full channel dimensions at Granada Crossing (Mile 203 AHP).  The dustpan dredge is expected to start work on full channel dimensions at Medora Crossing (Mile 212 AHP) over the weekend. The WALLACE McGEORGE commenced dredging on the Crossings on Thursday, May 21, 2020.  

The Carrollton Gauge (New Orleans) reading at 1400 hours today was 3.71 feet with a 24-hour change of + 0.04 feet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service Extended Streamflow Prediction (28-Day) for the Carrollton Gauge issued today predicts stages rising to 5.0 feet over the next two weeks and then beginning a slow fall to 4.5 feet on December 18, 2020.  

The Baton Rouge Gauge reading at 1500 hours today was 11.62 feet with a 24-hour change of – 0.21 feet. NOAA’s National Weather Service Extended Streamflow Prediction (28-Day) for the Baton Rouge Gauge issued today predicts stages rising to 12.9 feet over the next two weeks and then beginning a slow fall to 10.3 feet on December 18, 2020.