The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is preparing for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25) channel maintenance dredging on the Mississippi River Ship Channel. The only dredge presently working on Ship Channel maintenance is the R.S. WEEKS (Weeks Marine) working in the Hopper Dredge Disposal Area. The large hopper dredge GLENN EDWARDS (Manson Construction) is expected to arrive and begin dredging in Southwest Pass over the next few weeks as scheduled for late February (2025). The cutterhead dredge ROBERT M. WHITE (Manson Construction) began dredging the shallow draft channel in Baptiste Collette last night, the assignment is expected to be completed by mid-April. 

CUTTERHEAD DREDGE AT THE HOPPER DREDGE DISPOSAL AREA (HDDA): 

R.S. WEEKS: The cutterhead dredge R.S. WEEKS began dredging on the HDDA project on November 25, 2024. The cutterhead dredge has removed approximately 4 million cubic yards (mcy) of material to date. The base contract required the removal of 4 mcy of material, and the USACE awarded an option to add an additional 2 mcy, bringing the contract total to 6 mcy. All sediment removed is being beneficially utilized to create land in the West Bay Receiving Area. Two scheduled channel closures were utilized to install the submerged dredge pipeline from the HDDA on the east and into the West Bay Receiving Area on the west side. The USACE anticipates completing work on this contract by mid-March. After completion there would be at least one more scheduled channel closure required to remove the submerged dredge pipeline that crosses the Ship Channel. 

HOPPER DREDGE(S) WORKING IN SOUTHWEST PASS (SWP):

GLENN EDWARDS: The hopper dredge GLENN EDWARDS is expected to arrive in SWP by the end of February to begin work under Southwest Pass Hopper Early Award #1-2024. This is the first of two Early Award hopper dredge contracts for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25). The second FY 25 Early Award contract was also awarded to Manson Construction for the hopper dredge NEWPORT (Gulf Coast Regional Hopper Contract Early Award #2-2024). The NEWPORT is scheduled to arrive SWP in March 2025.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STAGES AND FORECAST UPDATES:

The Carrollton Gage (New Orleans) reading at 1300 hours today was 5.35 feet with a 24-hour change of + 0.37 feet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service Extended Streamflow Prediction (28-Day) for the Carrollton Gage issued today forecasts that stages will continue to rise until cresting at 8.8 feet on February 25 and are then expected to begin a slow fall to 6.7 feet on March 11 (2025).