The Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley New Orleans (MVN) continues to address the shoaling on the Crossings Above New Orleans with the WALLACE McGEORGE. The MVN is working to restore full channel dimensions on the Crossings before the last dustpan must depart. Federally authorized channel dimensions on the Crossings Above New Orleans are 45 feet by 500 feet. The industry cutterhead dredge R.S. WEEKS (Weeks Marine) commenced dredging 12 million cubic yards of material from the HDDA on Saturday, November 3, 2018.
The Carrollton Gauge reading at 1400 hours today was 10.30 feet, with a 24-hour change of – 0.01 feet.
The Baton Rouge Gauge reading was unavailable at the time of this notice.
The graph below is reproduced from NOAA’s National Weather Service website and represents an experimental product to account for the complexity of accurately predicting long-range precipitation. This forecast projects stage levels based on expected precipitation for 2 days (top) and 16 days (bottom) and was developed within the North American Ensemble Forecast System (NAEFS) computer model and highlights Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF). Along with the forecasts, a shaded area is also provided to indicate uncertainty for the forecast each day in the future. These plots are experimental and not an official forecast product.
Please see the attached report for complete details on dredge assignments.
CUTTERHEAD DREDGE AT THE HOPPER DREDGE DISPOSAL AREA (HDDA):
R.S. WEEKS: Weeks Marine is beneficially using the removed dredged material in the Pass-a- Loutre Wildlife Management Area on the eastern side of the Ship Channel. Due to the unseasonably high river stages, Weeks decided not to begin the project by depositing the material in the West Bay Receiving Area as originally planned (western channel side). The disposal in West Bay would require channel closures to install and then remove a submerged dredge pipeline
The Big River Coalition will remain engage throughout the process and issue updates when pertinent details are available. If Weeks does decide to install a submerged dredge pipeline across the Ship Channel as part of this contract, the Coalition will attempt to distribute information on the scheduled channel closure(s) two-weeks in advance.
DUSTPAN DREDGES ON THE CROSSINGS ABOVE NEW ORLEANS:
WALLACE McGEORGE: The industry dustpan dredge WALLACE McGEORGE continues dredging at Granada Crossing (Mile 205 Above Head of Passes [AHP]). The WALLACE McGEORGE began dredging on the Crossings on Friday, May 11, 2018.
HURLEY: The Corps’ dustpan dredge HURLEY completed dredging full channel dimensions (500 feet) at Red Eye Crossing (Mile 224 AHP) and departed the Crossings. The dustpan dredge worked on the Crossings from May 16, 2018 to October 31, 2018 before departing the Ship Channel.
JADWIN: The JADWIN completed FY 2018 dredging operations on the Crossings and departed the Ship Channel on October 27, 2018. The JADWIN began dredging on the Crossings on Thursday, May 10, 2018.
