US Army Corps of Engineers
Norfolk District Website

Home / Media / News Stories

  • August

    This rendering shows the final plans for the new Visitor Center and traffic flow at the LaSalle Avenue Gate at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Construction will close the gate for approximately six months. (Graphic courtesy of 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron)

    Langley's gate construction makes way for new visitor center

    The second and final phase of gate construction here kicked off Monday. The construction, a $7.6 million joint-venture project constructed by W.M. Jordan/Versar, Inc. and overseen by the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will provide a new guardhouse and a 2,800 square-foot visitor center at the LaSalle Avenue gate.
  • WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- Crews work to build a new beach at NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility here. The newly built beach will help protect more than $1 billion in federal government and Commonwealth of Virginia assets located here. The Wallops Island facility is home to, not only NASA, but also the US Navy Surface Combat Systems Center and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport making this a growing economic generator for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the region.

    Beach complete, infrastructure protected

    More than 3 million cubic yards of newly deposited sand is protecting the launch pads and critical infrastructure at NASA’s flight facility at Wallops Island, Va.
  • FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- A controlled explosion breaches a section of Embrey Dam on Feb. 23, 2004 as part of the dam's removal process. The 94 year old dam no longer served a useful purpose and was removed to help restore the environment along the Rappahannock River. (U.S. Army file photo)

    Benefits of dam removal reach further than expected

    In an area roughly 73 to 93 miles upstream from where Embrey Dam once stood on the Rappahannock River, researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey noticed resurgence in the American eel population in their once-natural habitat, now that they are longer impeded by the 22-foot-high structure.

  • Craney Island mosquito spraying scheduled

    The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Portsmouth will conduct joint aerial mosquito spraying from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., August 10, at federal properties on Craney Island, adjacent city properties and the north Churchland area in Portsmouth, Va.

  • July

    Dredge Currituck: the little Corps vessel with a huge maritime mission

    From Florida to Maine, one unique vessel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ maritime fleet earns its “indispensable” reputation 363 days a year by dredging dangerous shoaling in shallow draft federal channel inlets: hopper dredge Currituck. The Currituck recently spent three days dredging the federal channel at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Va., and removed more than 7,700 cubic yards of shoaling sand. The Currituck hopper dredge then transported the fine sand, offloading it along the Virginia Beach coastline to replenish the city’s beachfront erosion.

  • June

    U.S. Navy vessels dock and nest at the newly refurbished Fort Norfolk wharf area during the 2012 OpSail Parade of Sail, held in early June. The Navy ships offered the public several days of open house vessel tours throughout the weeklong festivities. (U.S. Army photo/ Mark Haviland)

    Repairs complete, Fort Norfolk's pier, wharf resume full operations

    For years, Mother Nature’s fury has steadily eroded the structural integrity of the Fort Norfolk pier and wharf area, seriously degrading its operational effectiveness and jeopardizing its safe operation. That was then.
  • Jerry Bridges, Port of Virginia's executive director, and Col. Paul Olsen, Norfolk District commander, sign a Project Partnership Agreement this afternoon for the Craney Island Eastward Expansion project. This Corps-VPA partnership will have significant impacts on the local, regional, and national economy, doubling the capacity of the Port and generating more than 56,000 jobs over time.

    Project’s Future Looks Bright

    The Virginia Port Authority and the Norfolk District signed an agreement reaffirming Craney Island’s Eastward Expansion project.
  • PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- More than 23 employees and family members from the Norfolk District participated in Clean the Bay Day June 2, 2012. Clean the Bay Day is a statewide initiative organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, in conjunction with municipalities, businesses and government agencies working together to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Every year since 1989, thousands of citizens throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia have dedicated their time to clear litter from waterways. Norfolk District employees volunteered three hours of their time today to remove debris from the shorelines of the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area, which is operated and maintained by the district. CIDMMA is a 2,500-acre confined dredged material disposal site on the north side of Portsmouth, Va. It serves as an economical and environmentally sustainable repository for material dredged within the federal waterways of the Hampton Roads harbor.

    Clean the Bay Day:

    More than 23 Norfolk District employees and family members participated in Clean the Bay Day June 2, 2012

  • May

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host its second quarterly meeting of the Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot, or FNOD, Restoration Advisory Board Thursday, June 7, from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.

    Public invited: FNOD restoration advisory board meets June 7

    The quarterly meeting of the Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot Restoration Advisory Board is 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. June 7.
  • U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Aric Deuel, officer in charge of the aids to navigation team Chincoteague, points out where he thinks the new alignment should be for the Chincoteague navigation channel here, May 8, 2012. The new alignment proposal was presented and accepted by members of the Chincoteague navigation partnership, which is comprised of representatives from local government, federal agencies and commercial watermen who rely on the channel for their livelihoods. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

    Partnership keeps communication/channel open

    Local, state and federal officials met with commercial fishermen here on the small island May 8 to discuss the best way to keep the channel and harbor open and safe for all vessel traffic that uses the waterway.
  • Master Sgt. Natalie Lucas, Airmen Audri Sanchez, Chief Latesha Mazyck, Lt. Rachael Strebel, LCpl. William Brewer, PVT2 Colton Young, show off their new America the Beautiful Passes given to them as part of the new pass program for all active military, May 5, 2012. The pass allows all military and their families to go to federal parks for free and is good for more than 2,000 federal recreation sites nationwide. The pass program is part of the first lady’s Joining Forces initiative to unite society in support of military members and their families.

    USACE to honor recreation passes

    USACE announced it will accept the federal recreation pass program's military pass at its more than 2,500 recreation areas nationwide.
  • People explore the new Large Vehicle Inspection Station before the station's ribbon-cutting ceremony May 4, 2012. The inspection station; construction of which was overseen by Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; will provide administrative and indoor inspection capabilities for commercial vehicles entering Joint Base Langley-Eustis. The 9,000-square foot inspection station will allow the Air Force to inspect all commercial traffic while preserving the primary entrance to the base for visitor and private vehicle entrance. The facility meets the minimum standards required to meet LEED Silver certification.

    LVIS eliminates dirty job

    The work of the 633rd Security Forces Squadron at Langley's LaSalle gate was worthy of a nod from the "Dirty Jobs" man himself.
  • Kayaks and canoes line the parking lot near the Dismal Swamp Canal in North Carolina May 5, 2012.

    325 participate in 9th annual Paddle for the Border

    The 9th annual Paddle for the Border kicked off May 5, 2012.

  • April

    (From left to right) Col. Patrick Mahaney Jr., Lt. Col. Jack Haefner, Col. Paul Olsen and Mike McCarthy throw dirt during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Asymmetric Warfare Group’s battle laboratory complex at Fort A.P Hill, Va. April 25, 2012. The $55 million dollar complex, construction of which is overseen by the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will provide the Army with an area to test and adapt operating procedures to ever-changing wartime scenarios. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

    Corps oversees construction of new battle lab

    Construction is underway to expand the capabilities of a laboratory tasked by the Army to train Soldiers in an ever -changing wartime environment. The Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group battle laboratory celebrated its construction start in a ground-breaking ceremony yesterday on post.
  • From left to right: Russ Pearson, ODU director of Real Estate and Space Management and Norfolk District's Tom Friberg, contracting officer representative and Robert Pretlow, project manager, reflect on the successful completion of the ODU Drainage and Canal Wetland Restoration Project during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held April 20 on the campus of Old Dominion University. (U.S. Army photo/Jerry Rogers)

    ODU's 'smooth sailing' aids in restoring health of Elizabeth River

    Perfect sailing weather awaited the Old Dominion University sailing team, but they chose instead to remain ashore on the banks of the Elizabeth River -- just long enough to celebrate the grand opening of their new sailing pier. Flanked by friends and guests, ODU officials and its project partners, Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Norfolk, cut the ribbon on the new sailing pier water access project and companion Elizabeth River Wetlands Restoration project.
  • The 23rd edition of Virginia's premier environmental summit, Environment Virginia Symposium, held April 10-12 on the historic campus of Virginia Military Institute, attracted more than 700 environmental stewards from throughout Virginia's public-private sectors as well as non-governmental agencies. (U.S. Army photo/Jerry Rogers)

    Environment Virginia Symposium promotes collaboration, innovation and results

    The 23rd edition of Virginia's premier environmental summit, held April 10-12 on the historic campus of Virginia Military Institute, attracted more than 700 environmental stewards from throughout Virginia's public-private sectors as well as non-governmental agencies. Together, they exchanged information, technology and ideas aimed at contributing to a prosperous economic and environmentally sustainable future.
  • (From left) Ward Robinette, president, Towne Bank of Portsmouth, the Honorable Kenneth Wright, Portsmouth mayor, and Dr. David Stuckwisch, Portsmouth schools superintendent, were among several elected officials who attended the March 29 groundbreaking ceremony for Paradise Creek Nature Park in Portsmouth, Va. The nature park is a 40-acre waterfront park on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River. When phase 1 work is completed in spring 2013, the park will boast two miles of nature trails and restored native plants that meander through one of the last stands of mature forest on the river. (U.S. Army photo/Pamela Spaugy)

    'Paradise Found' turns out to be a nature park in Portsmouth, Va.

    It began with four folks, sitting around a kitchen table, discussing ways to clean-up their beloved river. That was 1993. On March 29, the Elizabeth River Project – the grassroots non-profit organization that morphed into a multi-million dollar public-private venture – broke ground on its largest public restoration site: Paradise Creek Nature Park in Portsmouth, Va.

  • March

    Jack Beecher helps small businesses navigate the federal marketplace as they seek opportunities.

    Vietnam soldier paves way for vets in business

    Jack Beecher is the magic man of small business as he connects Corps opportunities, mostly contracting, with small businesses.