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The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District has awarded a contract for the maintenance dredging of Fire Island Inlet and Shores Westerly to Jones Beach in New York. The contract, valued at approximately US$36.98 million, was awarded to Norfolk Dredging Company based in Chesapeake, Virginia.
This essential multi-purpose project includes the maintenance of a navigation channel at least 250 feet (76 metres) wide and to a minimum depth of -10 feet (three metres) Mean Low Water Datum. In addition to providing a critical navigation channel, the project offers significant coastal storm risk management benefits.
This contract will hydraulically dredge 1.25 million cubic yards (956,000 cubic metres) of sand from Fire Island Inlet and strategically place it along the Gilgo Beach shoreline on Jones Island, nourishing the beaches westward towards Jones Inlet, addressing critical erosion areas. Work is scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2024.
The inlet was last dredged in 2022-23, with approximately 1.5 million cubic yards (1.1 million cubic metres) of sand placed at Gilgo Beach. Previous maintenance dredging cycles were completed in the winter of 2018-19 and the winter of 2013-14, addressing erosion and storm damage.
