Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Illinois, last Thursday, 11 September, began dredging of the Savannah’s outer harbor.
The dredging was originally scheduled to begin in December but dredge ‘Alaska’, which was working in Louisiana, became available earlier, reported the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District.
The outer harbor dredging project, part of Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP), is a $134.5 million contract awarded March 4 to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company. The contract includes deepening the outer harbor which extends 18.5 miles from Fort Pulaski into the Atlantic Ocean.
Dredging the outer harbor is the first step to deepening the entire 40-mile shipping channel and harbor from deep ocean to the Georgia Ports Authority terminal in Garden City.
The SHEP will deepen the Savannah Harbor federal shipping channel from a depth of -42 feet to -47 feet. The total project cost estimate is currently $706 million.
Shown on the photos are GLDD’s dredge Alaska and its spider barge and scout vessel.
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