The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the Jacksonville Port Authority received unanimous approval of the Corps’ Civil Works Review Board for the Jacksonville Harbor Navigation (Deepening) Study’s Final Integrated General Reevaluation Report II and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement following their presentation in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, Feb. 25.
The board has recommended moving forward with the final state/agency review.
This marks a significant milestone for the study and recommended navigation improvement plan, which includes deepening and widening of Jacksonville Harbor. The report outlines the major national benefits of the project, including transportation cost savings and increased economic efficiency of the port.
The Jacksonville Harbor Navigation Study is one of five major port studies in the United States expedited as part of President Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” initiative. Following its identification by the president as a national priority, the Corps was challenged to reduce the study schedule by more than 14 months, using all the tools available to determine what channel improvements are needed and whether or not the nation should invest in Jacksonville Harbor to further economic growth. The Corps met this challenge and completed the study on time.
The recommended plan is to deepen the channel from the existing 40-foot project depth to 47 feet, starting from the entrance channel to approximately river mile 13, widen the channel within the Mile Point/Training Wall Reach and the St. Johns Bluff/White Shells Reach, and construct two turning basins at Blount Island and Brills Cut.
All dredged material will go to the Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site, located approximately eight miles offshore from the mouth of the St. Johns River.
Press Release, March 7, 2014