U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Ceremony marks completion of Savannah Harbor deepening project

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among the speakers at a March 25 ceremony held by the Georgia Ports Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Georgia Department of Transportation to mark completion of the Savannah Harbor deepening project.

“This is a great day for the state of Georgia and for the nation,” said Kemp. “The Port of Savannah is the gateway port for our region, and the first choice of businesses serving the U.S. Southeast.”

Dredging for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project started in...

https://www.marinelog.com/inland-coastal/ports-terminals/ceremony-marks-completion-of-savannah-harbor-deepening-project/

USACE awards Cleveland Harbor dredging contract

The Buffalo Engineer District has awarded a $5.98 million contract to Michigan-based Walsh Service Solutions. The award covers dredging of the federal navigation channel in Cleveland Harbor.

“Maintaining the operation of our nation’s ports is more critical than ever to the vitality of the nation,” said Lt. Col. Eli Adams, commander of the Buffalo District. “We’re proud of our partnerships with the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio, and our representatives in Congress that have made this...

https://www.marinelog.com/inland-coastal/dredging/usace-awards-cleveland-harbor-dredging-contract/

Corps activates Phase I Mississippi River flood flight procedures

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says that the Mississippi River at the Carrollton Gage in New Orleans has risen above 11 feet, prompting the New Orleans Engineer District to activate Phase I flood fight procedures.

Closely coordinating efforts with the local levee authorities, the New Orleans District will begin patrolling levees along the Mississippi River twice weekly until the water level drops below 11 feet at the Carrollton Gage.

Phase I is a proactive measure that is triggered when the...

https://www.marinelog.com/inland-coastal/inland/corps-activates-phase-i-mississippi-river-flood-flight-procedures/

Corps seeks comments on pipeline plan for dredged material

The St. Paul Engineer District is seeking public comments on a draft plan to install a pipeline near Reads Landing, Minn., that would be used to transport dredged material, or river sand, during maintenance of the Mississippi River navigation channel.

Corps of Engineers planners are proposing to install a pipeline from Reads Landing to the Wabasha Gravel Pit, just north of Wabasha, Minn. The pipeline would improve upon an existing route that the Corps has used approximately five times in the...

https://www.marinelog.com/inland-coastal/inland/corps-seeks-comments-on-pipeline-plan-for-dredged-material/

FreightWaves Classics/Infrastructure: Alaska Highway was built 80 years ago (Part 2)

Soldiers Refines Sims Jr. and Alfred Jalufka meet in the middle at Contact Creek, on completion of the Alaska Highway. (Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

If you missed Part 1 of this article, here is a link.

The Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands

To divert attention from the attack on Midway Island, the Japanese bombed the naval base at Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands on June 3, 1942. The Third Special Landing Force of 550 Japanese marines landed on June 7, 1942. They gained control of the mainly uninhabited islands of Kiska and Attu in Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain (which is located off southwestern Alaska) after the only battles...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsinfrastructure-alaska-highway-was-built-80-years-ago-part-2

FreightWaves Classics/Infrastructure: Alaska Highway was built 80 years ago (Part 1)

Work on the Alaska Highway in 1942. (Photo: themilepost.com)

Background

When the United States entered World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, there were dozens of locations across the Pacific Ocean that were in danger from Japanese attack and occupation. One such location was the Alaska Territory. 

Strategic reasons to build the Alaska Highway

Because of its location, a land route to Alaska became a high priority. Why? Alaska’s Aleutian Islands are closer to Japan than any other point in North America. The United States armed forces...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsinfrastructure-alaska-highway-was-built-80-years-ago-part-1

FreightWaves Classics: Cascade Locks and Canal helped navigation and commerce on Columbia River

A steamboat using the Cascade Canal. (Photo: oregonencyclopedia.org)

Background

The Bonneville Landslide was a massive ground movement that occurred around 1200 AD. It  was so big that it briefly blocked the Columbia River. The river’s water volume pushed through the blockage, but the uneroded portions of the landslide created a four-mile stretch of rapids in the river that are known as the Cascades of the Columbia. 

The Oregon Territory was established in 1848. It encompassed all of the current states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington, as well as parts of Wyoming...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-cascade-locks-and-canal-helped-navigation-and-commerce-on-columbia-river

FreightWaves Classics: Building the Ledo Road kept China in World War II

A convoy of supply trucks moves along the Ledo Road. (Photo: army/mil)

Frank and Joe Sandoval grew up in a predominantly Hispanic-American community in the small town of Silvis, Illinois, which is near the Illinois-Iowa border. They grew up on Second Street, which is only about 1.5 blocks long with 25 houses. What makes Second Street unique, however, is that more than 100 individuals from that street have served in the U.S. military. That is a higher number than any other U.S. street of similar size. 

The Sandovals’ parents were born in Mexico. During the Mexican...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-building-the-ledo-road-kept-china-in-world-war-ii

Dredging project temporarily slows vessel activity at Port of Savannah

Dredging vessels alongside a massive container vessel docked at a port with large cranes overhead.

At a time when supply strains are stretched to the maximum, any disruption, no matter how modest, is magnified. So it is at the Port of Savannah in Georgia, where dredging activity to deepen berths is delaying cargo transfers for container vessels by about two days, according to port officials and shipping companies.

The work is tied to a massive $706 million joint state and federal project to deepen a 32-mile stretch of the Savannah River between the Atlantic Ocean and the city from 42 feet to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dredging-project-temporarily-slows-vessel-activity-at-port-of-savannah

Biden budget pumps $84 million into Virginia port deepening

The deepening and widening of Norfolk Harbor at the Port of Virginia was for the first time included in a federal budget with $83.7 million that will help ensure the project remains on course for completion in 2024.

The project funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was part of President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget proposal released on Friday. The $350 million project will deepen the port’s channels to 55 feet and widen the channels to allow two-way traffic for ultra-large container ships and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-budget-pumps-84-million-into-virginia-port-deepening

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