The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officially commenced the historic project to deepen the Mississippi River Ship Channel (MRSC) to 50 feet on the evening of September 11, 2020. Weeks Marine started work under the first dredging contract for the deepening project with their cutterhead dredge CAPTAIN FRANK at Mile 5.0 Above Head of Passes (AHP). The USACE continues working to restore full channel dimensions (45 feet by 500 feet) of the MRSC on the Crossings Above New Orleans with the dustpan dredges HURLEY, JADWIN and WALLACE McGEORGE.

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

The USACE intends to deepen the Ship Channel with a total of three dredges, specifically the two cutterhead dredges listed 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 officially commenced the historic project to deepen the Mississippi River Ship Channel to 50 feet. The CAPTAIN FRANK is presently dredging at Mile 2.49 AHP and continues dredging on assignment from Mile 5.0 AHP to Mile 1.0 Below Head of Passes (BHP) on the western side of the channel. The USACE awarded Southwest Pass Cutterhead Dredge Rental Contract #1-2020 to Weeks Marine on Thursday, September 3, 2020.

ROBERT M. WHITE: The bid opening for Southwest Pass Cutterhead Dredge Rental Contract #2-2020 was held on August 27, 2020 and the contract was awarded to Manson Construction on September 8, 2020. The ROBERT M. WHITE’s first assignment is from Mile 9.0 BHP to Mile 15.0 BHP on the western side of the channel. The cutterhead is expected to start work under the deepening contract later this week.

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

R.S. WEEKS: The cutterhead dredge R.S. WEEKS resumed dredging in the HDDA on September 23, 2020. 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. There were approximately 1.9 mcy of material left to be removed under this contract when dredging resumed with completion expected in late November (2020). The R.S. WEEKS sought safe harbor from Hurricane Delta and used the downtime to conduct needed repairs before resuming work on the HDDA contract this morning.

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

HURLEY: The government dustpan dredge HURLEY continues dredging full channel dimensions at Red Eye Crossing (Mile 224 AHP). The HURLEY started dredging on the Crossings on June 29, 2020 and is expected to continue working on the Crossings until late November.

WALLACE McGEORGE: The industry dustpan dredge continues dredging operations on full channel dimensions at Bayou Goula (Mile 198.2 AHP).  The WALLACE McGEORGE commenced dredging on the Crossings on Thursday, May 21, 2020 and is expected to continue working on the Crossings until late November.

JADWIN: The government dustpan dredge is expected to complete dredging full channel dimensions at Belmont Crossing (Mile 154 AHP) later today and will depart the Crossings upon completion of this assignment. The JADWIN began dredging on the Crossings on Thursday, May 21, 2020 and completed work on October 19, 2020.

The Carrollton Gauge (New Orleans) reading at 0900 hours today was 4.31 feet with a 24-hour change of + 0.03 feet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service Extended Streamflow Prediction (28-Day) for the Carrollton Gauge issued today predicts the river stages will remain steady between 4.6 to 4.2 feet and forecasts a reading of 4.2 feet on November 16, 2020.

The Baton Rouge Gauge reading at 1000 hours today was 12.34 feet with a 24-hour change of – 0.29 feet. NOAA’s National Weather Service Extended Streamflow Prediction (28-Day) for the Baton Rouge Gauge issued today predicts the river stages will remain steady between 12.0 feet and 10.9 feet and forecasts a reading of 10.9 feet on November 16, 2020.