The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, has just released a photo of the dredge Padre Island working in the Savannah outer harbor.
The photo taken on March 30th 2016, shows the Padre Island of Great Lakes Doc & Dredge Company deepening the outer channel as part of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP).
Deepening of the Savannah harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet will allow larger, post-Panamax ships greater access to the nation’s fourth busiest container port.
According to the Corps, hopper dredging to deepen the Savannah harbor ended March 31, but deepening will continue with a cutterhead dredge. The hopper dredge can only be used when there is a lower danger of encountering sea turtles at the mouth of the Savannah River.
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.
[mappress mapid=”22164″]