With Congressional authorization to dredge the federal navigation channels to 55 feet in depth, the Norfolk Harbor dredging and widening project establishes the deepest such channels on the U.S. East Coast, enhancing vessel and cargo capacity at the Port of Virginia.
Norfolk Harbor is a system of channels beginning with the Atlantic Ocean entrance, the Thimble Shoal Channel in Chesapeake Bay, and into Hampton Roads. The project is a collaboration between the Virginia Port Authority (VPA), as a non-federal project sponsor, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
Moffatt & Nichol assisted VPA with their work-in-kind efforts throughout the preconstruction engineering and design phase and construction of the deepening and widening of Thimble Shoal Channel to accommodate two way vessel traffic and protective cover over the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel. Design activities included preparing contract design documents after validating the channel geometry with the Virginia Pilots using ship simulations and ocean current models, analyzing vessel incident scenarios to design the protective tunnel cover, and managing subconsultants to perform sediment characterization, hydrographic surveys, and cultural resource surveys needed to get final permissions from a variety of stakeholder agencies to proceed with construction. Construction sequencing was developed to align with seasonal dredging restrictions and beach nourishment opportunities for the dredged material. During construction, Moffatt & Nichol performed the day-to-day management of the multiple dredge contractor teams that were working concurrently within Thimble Shoal Channel and the associated dredge disposal sites on behalf of the VPA and coordinated the activities with a wide range of maritime stakeholders and USACE.
