Port of Fernandina dredging underway

USACE is currently conducting maintenance dredging at the Port of Fernandina, located on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

According to the official plan, the project will deepen the portions of the Amelia River to 36 feet.

In fact, the main goal of these works is to allow larger vessels to use the facility.

The $4.3 million program, being managed by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, is expected to be completed by November 2020.

Maintenance dredging will consist of removing approximately 400,000 CY from the Inner Channel and Turning Basin.

Also, the dredged material will be placed in the Ocean Dredge Material Disposal Site.

This is the first time the dredging has been done in 20 years.

Port of Fernandina director Christopher Ragucci explained that the depth of the turning area would be a minimum of 36 feet at mean low tide.

He also said that the new depth in conjunction with 6-foot tides would provide access to the port for large ships that require 40 feet of depth when loaded.