Wilmington Harbor Project

Wilmington Harbor is located at Wilmington on the southern coast of North Carolina in New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. The project consists of two separable elements, the portion for deepening of the existing project and the portion for raising the dikes on Eagle Island dredged material disposal facility (DMDF) for maintenance of the existing project until the deepening is completed.

Features constructed to date include deepening the ocean bar and entrance channels to the authorized depth 44 feet; deepening the project to 42 feet up from Lower Swash Channel to and including the Between channel; widening the existing 400-foot wide channel to 600 feet over a total length of 6.2 miles including Lower and Upper Midnight and Lower Lilliput reaches; widening five turns and bends by 100 to 200 feet providing a total average channel width of 500 to 675 feet; and widening the Fourth East Jetty Channel to 500 feet over a total length of 1.5 miles.

Features yet to be completed include deepening the anchorage basin immediately upriver from the State Ports Authority dock from 38 feet to 42 feet, and extending the anchorage basin northward by 300 feet deepening the 32-foot channel between Castle Street and the Hilton Railroad Bridge, the 32-foot turning basin just above the mouth of the Northeast Cape Fear river on the west side, and the 25-foot channel from the Hilton Railroad Bridge to 750 feet upstream all to a depth of 38 feet; deepening the 25-foot channel from 750 feet upstream of the Hilton Railroad Bridge to the turning basin near the upstream limits of the project to 34 feet, along with widening of the channel from 200 to 250 feet; and widening the turning basin from 700 to 800 feet.

Mitigation requirements are partially complete with the acquisition, by fee title, of 30 acres of upland areas and construction of an embayment. Acquisition of about 800 acres of existing marsh and upland areas for preservation of habitat to offset losses of wetlands and primary nursery areas are underway.

Fish Passage at Lock and Dam #1 still needs to be constructed as mitigation for the deepening already accomplished.

Improvement to the dredged material disposal facility is also underway by incrementally raising the dikes of three cells on Eagle Island dredged material disposal facility from their current elevations to an ultimate elevation of 40 feet.

The project was authorized by the Water Resources Development Acts of November 17, 1986 (PL 99-662) and October 12, 1996 (PL 104-303) and the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998.

Wilmington Harbor Project
(Navigation)

• Sponsor: State of NC
• Construction initiated in Aug 1999
• Project Completion pending future funding
• Northeast Cape Fear contract award delayed, subject to the availability of funds
• Continue GRR and DMMP in FY 2009

 

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: NC 7 DATE: 22 April 2009

1. AUTHORIZATION: Water Resources Development Acts of November 17, 1986 (PL 99-662) and October 12, 1996 (PL 104-303) and the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998.
2. LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION: Wilmington Harbor is located at Wilmington on the southern coast of North Carolina in New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. The project consists of two separable elements, the portion for deepening of the existing project and the portion for raising the dikes on Eagle Island dredged material disposal facility (DMDF) for maintenance of the existing project until the deepening is completed. Features constructed to date include deepening the ocean bar and entrance channels to the authorized depth 44 feet; deepening the project to 42 feet up from Lower Swash Channel to and including the Between channel; widening the existing 400-foot wide channel to 600 feet over a total length of 6.2 miles including Lower and Upper Midnight and Lower Lilliput reaches; widening five turns and bends by 100 to 200 feet providing a total average channel width of 500 to 675 feet; and widening the Fourth East Jetty Channel to 500 feet over a total length of 1.5 miles. Features yet to be completed include deepening the anchorage basin immediately upriver from the State Ports Authority dock from 38 feet to 42 feet, and extending the anchorage basin northward by 300 feet deepening the 32-foot channel between Castle Street and the Hilton Railroad Bridge, the 32-foot turning basin just above the mouth of the Northeast Cape Fear river on the west side, and the 25-foot channel from the Hilton Railroad Bridge to 750 feet upstream all to a depth of 38 feet; deepening the 25-foot channel from 750 feet upstream of the Hilton Railroad Bridge to the turning basin near the upstream limits of the project to 34 feet, along with widening of the channel from 200 to 250 feet; and widening the turning basin from 700 to 800 feet. Mitigation requirements are partially complete with the acquisition of, by fee title, 30 acres of upland areas and construction of an embayment. Acquisition of about 800 acres of existing marsh and upland areas for preservation of habitat to offset losses of wetlands and primary nursery areas are underway. Fish Passage at Lock and Dam #1 still needs to be constructed as mitigation for the deepening already accomplished. Improvement to the dredged material disposal facility is also underway by incrementally raising the dikes of three cells on Eagle Island dredged material disposal facility from their current elevations to an ultimate elevation of 40 feet.

PROJECT INFORMATION – Wilmington Harbor, NC (Navigation) (C) – Continued

3. COST ESTIMATE: $ 358,613,000 (Federal)
   174,387,000 (Non-Federal)
   $533,000,000 Total
4. FEDERAL FUNDING ALLOCATION THRU FY 2008: $ 248,528,000
5. FY 2009 FEDERAL FUNDING ALLOCATION: $ 2,075,000. These funds are being used to continue the General Reevaluation Report (GRR), Dredged Material Management Plan, and biological and physical monitoring and construction of Eagle Island FY 2008/2009 improvements.
6. FY 2010 FEDERAL BUDGET REQUEST: To be determined.
7. COMPLETION DATE: FY 2014, subject to the availability of funds.
8. OTHER INFORMATION: Channel Construction contracts have been completed as follows:
   Ocean Bar I April 2001
   Mitigation May 2001
   Big Island Rock Removal January 2002
   Horseshoe Shoal May 2001
   Ocean Bar II November 2002 (Sand to Brunswick Bchs)
   Clean Sweep-Unsuitable Material February 2004
   Clean Sweep – Beach Disposal February 2005 (Sand to Brunswick Bchs)
   Anchorage Basin/Passing Lane June 2006

Multiple dike modification contracts have also been completed with several remaining to be accomplished. The interim milestone of deep water to the State Ports has been achieved. Remaining contracts include a yet to be determined method to pass fish at Lock and Dam No. 1 for required mitigation, multiple disposal area modifications, and multiple fully funded channel deepening contracts to complete the remaining 4 mile long Northeast Cape Fear portion of the project. The number of contracts will be dependent on future funds availability.