The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, said it has begun dredging operations in sections of the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW) in St. Johns County, Fla., within the Palm Valley North Reach.
An Operation and Maintenance (O&M) dredging contract is underway, which will address problematic shoaling occurring within this reach of the IWW. The contract is being funded with a combination of Federal funds and Contributed Funds form the Florida Inland Navigation District.
The Palm Valley North Reach is a large O&M dredging project for the IWW, with an approximate 641,500 cubic yards of material being removed from the channel. The material will be placed in the existing Dredge Material Management Area (DMMA) DU-9, which is located in St. Johns County at the northern end of the project area. Dredging will begin at the Duval/St. Johns County line and continue southward to the Palm Valley Bridge.
Due to the need to recover lost days in the schedule, dredging operations will return to 24 hours per day, seven days a week. The current completion date of dredging operations is targeted for the end of July 2022.