Name and Location
Savannah harbour expansion project (Shep), Georgia, US.

Client
US Army Corps of Engineers.

Project Description
The project will deepen the Savannah harbour federal shipping channel from a depth of 13 m to 14 m.

The selected plan includes dredging most of the navigation channel and one existing turning basin – Kings Island – deeper to 1.54 m; deepening eight berths at the Garden City terminal; and building three bend wideners, two meeting areas and an estimated 114-km-long extension to the existing ocean bar channel. The existing 0.69 m of allowable overdepth and up to 1.83 m of advance maintenance will be retained.

Features of the existing navigation project that will not be improved will remain as components of the Savannah harbour navigation project.  Dredging methods recommended include a hydraulic pipeline, a hopper dredge and a mechanical dredge, or similar equipment. This equipment will be used to excavate about 9.93-million cubic metres of new work sediment from the inner harbour, with disposal in the existing upland confined to disposal facilities. The equipment will also be used to excavate about 8.1-million cubic metres of new work sediment for the entrance channel, with placement in the US Environmental Protection Agency-approved ocean-dredged material disposal site or in the existing confined disposal facilities. This proposed action will result in the initial excavation of about 18-million cubic metres of dredged sediment.

Environmental mitigation features include installing a dissolved oxygen system; building a fish bypass upstream at the New Savannah bluff lock and dam; rerouting freshwater flow in the upper harbour; preserving 909 ha of freshwater wetlands for the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge; and recovering remnants of the CSS Georgia civil war ironclad that rests some about 12.2 m below the river’s surface.

Value
The total project cost estimate is currently $706-million.

Duration
The project will take about five years to complete.

Latest Developments
Shep has begun, following the award of a $134.5-million contract to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation by the Savannah District US Army Corps of Engineers in March this year.

Great Lakes plans to use a mix of cutter suction and hopper dredges to perform the work. Dredging operations are expected to start later this year and be completed by mid-2018.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
US Army Corps of Engineers corporate communications officer Russell Wicke, tel +1 912 652 5777 or
email Russell.A.Wicke@usace.army.mil.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation investor relations, Mary Morrissey, tel + 1 630 574 3467.