USACE, Delaware senior leaders tour Delaware River navigation project

Mr. Michael Connor, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and USACE senior leaders visited the Port of Wilmington and met with elected officials and partners during a January 26 visit to the State of Delaware.  

The group also toured the Delaware River federal navigation project from the H.R. SPIES survey vessel.

The project includes:

• deepening the existing Delaware River Federal Navigation Channel from 40 to 45 feet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, to the mouth of the Delaware Bay;

• appropriate bend widening;

• partial deepening of the Marcus Hook anchorage;

• relocation and addition of aids to navigation. 

The deeper channel allows for more efficient transportation of containerized, dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and project cargoes to and from the Delaware River ports.

During the visit, Mr. Connor also briefly participated in a news conference with Senator Tom Carper to discuss the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the 2022 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

“We’re going to make these investments in a way that’s addressing the impacts of climate change, that looks to the future while understanding the role that we need to play in protecting our coasts and maintaining our waterways,” said Connor.

“All of that’s done with an eye toward the recreational aspect which is so important to Delaware’s economy.”