The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District today announced the award of the first contract to construct a new federal navigation channel that will service the maritime industry located in Port Jersey, New Jersey. Supported by the Office of Maritime Resources in New Jersey's Department of Transportation and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Port Jersey Channel project will deepen the existing channel to a depth of 41'.

A total of three contracts will be awarded to construct the project, which is expected to cost approximately $119 million and be completed by 2005. The project is cost-shared with the State of New Jersey and is part of the overall effort to create a safer and more efficient harbor by allowing the newer, larger, more environmentally and economically friendly ships to call on the Port of New York and New Jersey. The larger vessels will save transportation costs for goods coming from overseas. These modern vessels are fuel-efficient and are equipped with the latest technologies in air emission control systems. The Army Corps of Engineers is paying 65 percent of the channel's deepening cost and the State of New Jersey is paying the balance.

Dredging performed under this contract will begin within the inner pier area between Port Jersey and the former Military Ocean Terminal, Bayonne. The first contract was awarded to Donjon Marine Co. Inc., of Hillside, NJ at a cost of $17 million and is scheduled for completion by December of 2003.

Dredging in the first contract area is expected to remove approximately 546,000 cubic yards of material. Approximately 325,000 cubic yards of the total volume will be used beneficially to cap the OENJ Bayonne landfill. Remaining portions of the underlying pre-historic sediments may be used, if determined to be suitable, for capping of the Historic Area Remediation Site in the Atlantic Ocean, or may be placed upland for beneficial use.

Currently, the Port Jersey Channel services Global Terminal and Container Services Inc., one of the largest container terminals on the East coast. The channel is expected to service a new container terminal envisioned for construction at the former Military Ocean Terminal, Bayonne, NJ.

Overall, the Port of New York and New Jersey directly and indirectly supports over 225,000 jobs in the New York and New Jersey area. Additionally, the Port helps lower the prices that local residents and businesses pay for goods that would otherwise be shipped via distant ports, generating an estimated savings of $750 million a year in reduced transportation costs to business and consumers in addition to the reduced traffic and air pollution impacts associated with transporting the goods into the region by landside methods.