Corps to begin dredging Newport Bay Harbor, completing east jetty repairs

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District
Published April 9, 2021
A clamshell dredge begins a five-month project May 2, 2012 to remove up to 350,000 cubic yards of material from the federal channel in Newport Harbor, Calif. The Port of Long Beach will use about one-third of the dredged material for its middle harbor redevelopment project.

A clamshell dredge begins a five-month project May 2, 2012 to remove up to 350,000 cubic yards of material from the federal channel in Newport Harbor, Calif. The Port of Long Beach will use about one-third of the dredged material for its middle harbor redevelopment project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District will begin dredging the Newport Bay Harbor entrance channel and perform repairs on the harbor’s east jetty in mid-April at Newport Beach, California.

A $3-million contract to perform the work was awarded Feb. 24 to Pacific Dredge and Construction LLC, located in San Diego. The City of Newport Beach is the non-federal sponsor of the project.

Estimated completion time of the work is by late June and includes dredging the harbor’s entrance channel to its authorized federal depth of -20 feet Mean Lower Low Water, or MLLW, and placing rock and repairing concrete along the east jetty.

“We have a great relationship with the City of Newport Beach and are looking forward to the completion of this project to continue providing safe navigation to all vessels using the harbor year round,” said Mark Golay, project manager with the Corps’ LA District.

Dredging the harbor’s entrance channel will provide safe navigation for recreational and commercial boats in Lower Newport Bay. About 68,000 cubic yards of sediment will be removed from the entrance channel during the process, with an option to remove an additional 77,000 cubic yards from the Balboa Reach, which is also known as the main channel.  

The beach-quality dredged material from the entrance channel will be placed in the nearshore area along Balboa Beach, southeast of Balboa Pier, which is beneficial to the peninsula beach. Material from the main channel will be taken to LA-3, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved ocean disposal site, which is located 4.3 nautical miles southwest of the harbor’s entrance. 

During the operations, the contractor will restrict access to the jetty for public safety. Additionally, near-shore operating hours – which includes jetty and dredging operations – are scheduled from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Towing the dredged material to placement sites is scheduled 24/7.

ABOUT THE LA DISTRICT’S NAVIGATION BRANCH

The Los Angeles District is responsible for 14 harbors along the Southern California coast, stretching from San Diego Harbor near the Mexican border to Morro Bay Harbor on California's central coast. The District's navigation mission is to provide safe, reliable, efficient, effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems for movement of commerce, national security needs and recreation. Responsibilities include planning and constructing new navigation channels, ports and harbors and maintaining channel depths along coastal channels, ports and harbors.

For more information about the project, contact Dena O’Dell, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Public Affairs, at (213) 452-3925 or Dena.M.O’Dell@usace.army.mil.


Contact
Dena O'Dell
(213) 452-3925
Dena.M.O'Dell@usace.army.mil

Release no. 21-004