The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently awarded a cutterhead dredge rental contract to Weeks Marine to remove 4 million cubic yards (mcy) in the base of the contract with options to add up to another 4 mcy of dredged material to be removed from the Hopper Dredge Disposal Area (HDDA). Weeks Marine is utilizing the cutterhead dredge J.S. CHATRY on this contract with submerged dredge pipeline installation operations that officially began yesterday morning. The schedule for the submerged pipeline installation and dredging is detailed below. A diagram outlaying the HDDA and the proposed pipeline crossing as provided by the USACE is attached, the pipeline will cross the Ship Channel from east to west between Mile 1.4 Above Head of Passes (AHP) and Mile 1.2 AHP. The material will be beneficially utilized in the West Bay Receiving Area and will bring the total to over 14,000 acres created since 2009, the largest wetlands restoration project in the world. 

The 48-hour period of one-way transits from Mile 2 Above Head of Passes (AHP) to the Head of Passes (Mile 0) commenced at 0600 hours yesterday morning (Sunday, November 17, 2024) and will continue until approximately 0600 hours tomorrow morning. At 0600 hours tomorrow morning, Tuesday, November 19, 2024, the first scheduled 12-hour closure will begin.

SCHEDULED CHANNEL RESTRICTIONS AND FULL CHANNEL CLOSURES:

1. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 and MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18: ONGOING – One-Way Traffic from Mile 2 Above Head of Passes (AHP) to Mile 0  (Head of Passes) for all vessels transiting this reach of the Mississippi River Ship Channel. This period will be utilized by Weeks Marine to allow the cutterhead dredge to dig a trench on the western side of the Ship Channel that the submerged dredge pipeline will eventually be inserted into. THIS PERIOD OF ONE-WAY TRAFFIC IS SCHEDULED TO LAST 48 CONSECUTIVE HOURS (one-way traffic). 
2. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2024: Complete Channel Closure from 0600 hours to 1800 hours for all vessel traffic from Mile 2 AHP to Mile 0 (Head of Passes). This closure will be utilized by Weeks Marine to have the J.S. CHATRY dredge a trench on the eastern side of the Ship Channel. The trench will be utilized to insert the dredge pipeline sufficiently deep enough to ensure the top of the pipeline is installed at or below 59.5 feet Mean Lower Low Water.
3. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2024: NO TRANSIT RESTRICTIONS expected.
4. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2024: Complete Channel Closure from 0600 hours to 1800 hours for all vessel traffic from Mile 2 AHP to Mile 0 (Head of Passes). This closure will be utilized to install the submerged dredge pipeline into the cross-channel trench.
5. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2024: HDDA DREDGING OPERATIONS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN, expect project to take three months or longer depending final contract cubic yardage and production. Pipeline removal will require complete channel closure at a date to be determined after dredging is completed.
6. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2024: CAN BE UTILIZED AS AN ALTERNATE CLOSURE DATE if for some reason the pipeline installation is not completed during the two scheduled closures, the closure can be called off if there are channel, weather, or equipment delays. 

A Contact Pilot is on-scene and stationed on the cutterhead J.S. CHATRY standing by on VHF-FM channels 67 and 71, or by phone at (985) 237-5041 for questions or status updates.

Pilot boats are exempt from the above provisions and excluded from the terms of the MSIB during complete channel closures but will communicate with the on-scene coordinator the Contact Pilot.

On days of full channel closures, vessels intending to arrive or depart the Mississippi River on the day of a closure must arrive at Pilottown (outbound) no later than 5:30 a.m. or Southwest Pass Entrance Light (inbound) no later than 4:00 a.m. on the morning of the closure.