Christie Administration
announces
multi-year State Channel
Dredging Program
Projects will improve safety and
revitalize
local economies
following Superstorm Sandy
(Trenton) – New
Jersey Department of Transportation
(NJDOT) officials today announced
the start of a multi-year, multi-million
dollar State Channel Dredging
Program that will begin to return
New Jersey's waterways affected
by Superstorm Sandy to a state of
good repair.
“Our state channels are vital waterways
that are used by recreational boaters
and commercial fisherman,” NJDOT
Commissioner James S. Simpson said. “Providing
safe navigation channels will have
a positive economic impact on small
businesses such as marinas, bait
and tackle shops, and charter companies,
as well as New Jersey's seafood
industry.”
The first project that will go
out for bid on Thursday, March
13, is for the dredging of the Waackaack
and Thorns Creeks in Keansburg,
Monmouth County. This project
will remove approximately 36,000
cubic yards of Sandy-related
sediment. Work on an adjacent Confined
Disposal Facility (CDF) is expected
to begin in May. Dredging is anticipated
to start in June.
Typically the state would not dredge in
the summer, but the new program
features an aggressive schedule
to maximize efforts during periods
of favorable dredging conditions
to alleviate hazards to boaters
and commercial vessels. Efforts
will be made to ensure work does
not unnecessarily impede navigation.
Over the next few months, NJDOT
expects to open bids for the
dredging of St. Georges Thorofare
(Atlantic County), Cape May Harbor
and Middle Thorofare (Cape May County),
and Double Creek, Double Creek – Mainland,
and Barnegat Light Stake Channels
in Barnegat Bay (Ocean County).
These projects will remove both
Sandy-related sediment and pre-storm
sediment to alleviate hazards
to navigation and return these channels
to a state of good repair. In Cape
May, the Middle Thorofare project
will ensure New Jersey's commercial
fishing industry is able to safely
access berths that support the New
Jersey seafood industry.
Asset Management Strategies
The State Channel Dredging Program
will feature asset management
strategies similar to those used
by the Department to guide investments
in other classes of assets, such
as highways and bridges. This
approach ensures the best use
of limited resources and will consider
such factors as the availability
of dredge material management
options, channel usage and associated
economic value, the level of siltation
in the channel, navigational safety,
Sandy-related impacts to a channel
and the related eligibility for
FEMA reimbursement.
Funding for this program will come
from State Transportation Trust
Funds and federal sources. All
of these projects are intended
to receive some amount of FEMA reimbursement.
Local Partnerships
In
certain circumstances there may be
opportunities for counties, municipalities,
marinas and private entities to partner
with NJDOT contractors to dredge locally
or privately-maintained waterways
that adjoin state channels where work
is being performed. Partnerships
could provide a significant cost
savings to local or private entities
by reducing mobilization costs.
As feasible, the NJDOT Office of
Maritime Resources will work
with interested parties to determine
whether dredged material management
capacity can be made available,
whether the sediment characteristics
are appropriate to be bundled
with a state project or whether
a local or private entity must identify
their own dredge material management
location. All local and private
partners will need to obtain
the necessary permits from the New
Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) and the United
States Army Corps of Engineers.
The single most important logistical
aspect of a dredging project
is the ability to safely and
efficiently manage the dredged material.
It is important to note that
coastal communities state-wide should
be investigating and developing
local and regional opportunities
for the management of dredged
material. It is important for counties
and municipalities to consider such
opportunities as the state moves
forward with the State Channel
Dredging Program.
The planning and implementation
of the program is a dynamic process
and NJDOT will work with local officials
and industry associations to provide
updates as projects are identified
and advanced.
NJDOT also is working with NJDEP,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
and the academic community to coordinate
and support post-Sandy resiliency
projects designed to ensure coastal
defense, alleviate flooding in certain
circumstances and create environmental
benefits through the beneficial
use of dredged material.
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