The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has officially completed the first two phases of deepening the Mississippi River Ship Channel, which currently provides a maximum draft for ships in the Port of New Orleans at 15.24 meters (50 feet).
The Ship Channel has been mechanically dredged for about the first 321 kilometres (200 miles) of the Channel, but it should be noted that additional efforts are needed to open the deeper draft north of the Huey P. Long Bridge.
Currently, the increased draft is available through the Port of New Orleans at the Huey P. Long Bridge at Mile 106 Above Head of Passes (AHP).
Extending the deeper draft over the Huey P. Long Bridge from 14.9 to 15.2 meters (49 feet to 50 feet) will require additional improvements, although dredging has been completed at Mile 175 AHP along with the additional 32 km (20 miles) of Southwest Pass (313 km total).
Phase 1 officially began operations on 11 September 2020, when Weeks Marine’s cutterhead dredge CAPTAIN FRANK began work on the initial dredge contract five miles Above Head of Passes. The USACE also awarded a contract for both another cutterhead dredge and a hopper dredge to Manson Construction Co. to complete the first phase of the deepening.
The total cost for the project was estimated at US$250 million, and the State of Louisiana committed US$81 million to cover the non-federal sponsor’s share of the cost.
The USACE’s Economic Justification Report determined the benefit-to-cost ratio at 7.2 to 1, showing the importance of the project, as the Ship Channel carries more than 500 million tonnes of cargo annually.
“As we fight to overcome inflation and supply chain bottlenecks, our ports are more important than ever,” said the US representative for Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district, Troy Carter.
