USACE and The White House officials tour Nome dredging

Col. Jeffrey Palazzini, Alaska District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander, and Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor and infrastructure implementation coordinator at The White House, toured the Port of Nome Modification Project recently.

They were accompanied by Eddie Belk, director of civil works at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters, and Jathan Garrett, project manager at the Alaska District.

The planned modifications will alleviate existing vessel restrictions that are imposed by insufficient channel depths and limited harbor space.

A new deep-water basin will enable larger ships to access the port and provide services to Nome and the state of Alaska.

The Port of Nome is a regional center on the state’s western coast and the town has no access to major Alaskan road systems.

A robust and efficient transportation hub at Nome is foundational to the long-term viability of communities in the region, said USACE.