VICKSBURG, Miss… The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District will begin dredging the Vicksburg Harbor on Nov. 3, 2014. The dredging project is scheduled to take 11 days. The dredging is an annual activity that ensures the navigation channel is clear from sediment buildup left by the natural flow of the Mississippi and rainfall runoff.
One of the primary missions of the District is supporting navigation across its 68,000 square mile area of responsibility. This includes the shallow draft harbors and ports of Greenville, Vicksburg, Rosedale, Yellow Bend, Lake Providence, Madison Parish and Claiborne County. Each of these ports is vital to the economy of the area where it is located and to the nation as a whole.
Without the vital work performed by the District and its partners to keep these ports and navigational channels open, goods and materials would cost more to ship and would vastly increase the number of semi trucks on the road that would also lead to increase in wear and tear on transportation routes.
The District recently announced the award of a contract to dredge on the Mississippi River for $4,390,701 to Weeks Marine, Inc., of Covington, Louisiana. The work consists of furnishing, delivering and operating one cutterhead, hydraulic pipeline dredge, of which Weeks Marine owns seven.
Per a study by the Iowa Department of Transportation one 15 barge tow on the Mississippi River can move the same amount as 870 semi-trucks on the highway. In addition, the use of the Mississippi River to ship goods is much more economical and environmentally friendly.
The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline levees. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the world's largest public engineering organization and has a firm commitment to preserving and enhancing our natural environment. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the steward of the lands and waters at Corps water resources projects. For more information visit our website,
www.mvk.usace.army.mil or download our smartphone app, USACE VICKSBURG, from your app store.