The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District completed maintenance dredging along the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway near the Cape May ferry terminal Nov. 10.
The recently finished work was part of a $448,000 contract with Southwind Construction Corp. to remove 32,000 cubic yards of sediment from the channel to enable the Cape May-Lewes ferry and other vessels to safely navigate the waterway. Funding to dredge the remaining portions of the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway (NJIWW) has been limited; however, the Philadelphia District dredged other stretches of the waterway in recent years with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The NJIWW project provides a safe and reliable navigation channel for nine U.S. Coast Guard Stations as well as the east coast's largest and 5th most valuable commercial fishing fleet in the U.S. at Cape May and Wildwood. In addition to the many recreational and commercial users, the Delaware River and Bay Authority operates the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Service from the Cape May Canal.
The New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway extends along the New Jersey Coast from the Atlantic Ocean at Manasquan Inlet, about 26 miles south of Sandy Hook, N.J. to the Delaware River about 3 miles north of Cape May Point, a total project length of approximately 117 miles. The Cape May-Lewes ferry has transported more than 11 million passengers between New Jersey and Delaware during its 40 year history.
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