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Corps begins $144K Bennett’s Creek dredging

Norfolk District Public Affairs

Published April 23, 2013

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SUFFOLK, Va. -- Pumps from the Army Corps of Engineers’ hopper dredge Currituck, based out of Wilmington, N.C., filters sand from Bennett's Creek to increase the depth from 2- to 6-feet. The shallow draft dredging of the federal navigation channel here began April 20, 2013. Approximately 4,000 cubic yards of sand - equivalent to 450 dump trucks of sand – will be placed at the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area in Portsmouth, Va.

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SUFFOLK, Va. -- Martin Willis, captain of the Currituck gives a project brief to Karen Guerra, a mechanical engineer from the Norfolk District and project manager of the Bennett’s Creek dredging project. The Wilmington, N.C.-based hopper dredge began dredging the shallow draft federal navigation channel April 20, 2013 to remove 4,000 cubic yards of sand as a result of shoaling caused by natural transport and deposit of sediment, however, the shoaling was exacerbated by Hurricane Sandy.

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SUFFOLK, Va. -- Pumps from the Army Corps of Engineers’ hopper dredge Currituck, based out of Wilmington, N.C., filters sand from Bennett's Creek to increase the depth from 2 to 6 feet April 23, 2013. The Currituck will place approximately 4,000 cubic yards of sand - equivalent to 450 dump trucks loads –at the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area in Portsmouth, Va. The shallow-draft dredging of the federal navigation channel here began April 20.

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SUFFOLK, Va. – The Currituck's captain, Martin Willis, prepares to drop one drag arm into Bennett’s Creek to start dredging April 23, 2013. Operating much like a giant vacuum cleaner, the vessel's drag arms hang from each side and are lowered into the channel. Each drag arms sucks a water and sand mixture, known as slurry, from the channel bottom. The slurry then passes through the drag heads and pipelines into the hopper. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' dredge Currituck arrived at Bennett’s Creek April 20, 2013 to remove approximately 4,000 cubic yards of sand to increase the channel depth from 2 feet to 6 feet.

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SUFFOLK, Va. – The hopper dredge Currituck arrived in Bennett’s Creek April 20, 2013 to remove shoaling in the federal navigation channel. The Wilmington, N.C.-based dredge will remove 4,000 cubic yards of sand -- the result of shoaling caused by natural transport and deposit of sediment. The shoaling, which was exacerbated by Hurricane Sandy, presents both safety and economic impacts for the maritime industry and nation. The dredging will increase the depth from 2 to 6 feet in half of the 60-foot channel.

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SUFFOLK, Va. -- The Army Corps of Engineers’ dredge Currituck arrived here Saturday to dredge the federal navigation channel in Bennett’s Creek.

Significant shoaling, caused by natural transport and deposit of sediment, made dredging necessary. The natural shoaling was exacerbated by Hurricane Sandy.

Over the course of five days, the Currituck, which is based out of Wilmington, N.C., will dredge 4,000 cubic yards of material and place it at the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area in Portsmouth, Va.

"We are very pleased that the Army Corps of Engineers partnered with the City of Suffolk to dredge Bennett's Creek. This project is a great benefit to the many residents who use Bennett's Creek for both work and pleasure,” said Suffolk Mayor Linda T. Johnson.

The project’s cost of $144,000 is shared: 59 percent is federally funded and the remaining 41 percent is locally funded.

The current work is the first of two dredging phases – the first will provide a minimum depth of 3.5 feet. At the end of the year, the Corps will dredge to provide a minimum depth of 8 feet at low tide.

Bennett’s Creek is a shallow-draft harbor and provides access to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean for commercial fishing vessels, charter fishing boats, head boats and a wide range of private recreational vessels.