Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $55.985 million in new federal funding for communities in Hampton Roads, Richmond, and on the Eastern Shore for water infrastructure improvements. The funding is awarded through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “Work Plan,” a source of funds provided by Congress for the Corps to allocate to ongoing projects. Warner and Kaine advocated directly to Army Corps leadership on behalf of many of these projects in Virginia.
“We fought for these key infrastructure projects because Virginia’s waterways play a critical role in the economies of coastal communities,” the Senators said. “From dredging and beach replenishment to cleaner rivers to new oyster habitats to new infrastructure for the Port of Virginia, these investments will help us protect coastal communities and the environment while growing the regional tourism and port commerce economies.”
In response to the funding for Virginia Beach projects, Mayor Louis Jones said, “Each project will have substantial positive impacts on the City of Virginia Beach, its businesses and residents. We appreciate Senator Kaine, Senator Warner and Congressman Taylor advocating so effectively for these projects in our city.”
Earlier this year, Warner and Kaine helped successfully include over $51 million for Virginia projects in the Army Corps civil works program as part of the recent omnibus government funding bill.
The $55.985 million in funding will be awarded as follows:
|
Project |
Location |
Type of Funding |
Allocation |
Summary of Work |
|
Lynnhaven River Basin |
Virginia Beach, VA |
Construction |
$10 million |
This funding will help restore wetlands and fish habitat, reduce nutrient and sediment pollution, provide flood control benefits, and reestablish impaired oyster and scallop populations in the Lynnhaven River and tributaries. |
|
Norfolk Harbor and Channels - Craney Island |
Portsmouth, VA |
Construction |
$5 million |
This funding will expand the dredge fill capacity of the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area, which will pave the way for a future Craney Island Marine Terminal that will nearly double the capacity of the Port of Virginia. |
|
Norfolk Harbor and Craney Island |
Portsmouth, VA |
Operations and Maintenance |
$5.35 million |
This funding will support maintenance to reduce shoaling in Norfolk Harbor and around Craney Island, as well as perform dike maintenance and replace one of six primary spillboxes at the Craney Island Dredge Material Management Area. |
|
Virginia Beach Hurricane Protection |
Virginia Beach, VA
|
Construction |
$17.6 million |
This funding will support dredging and beach re-nourishment to ease impacts of previous extreme weather events. |
|
Donor and Energy Transfer Ports |
Port of Virginia |
Operations and Maintenance |
$3.96 million |
This funding will be provided to a dedicated account for ports around the nation that either pay more into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund than they receive in benefits from it or ports that are critical to the movement of energy commodities, of which the Port of Virginia is one. |
|
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway North Landing Bridge |
Chesapeake, VA |
Investigations |
$400,000 |
This funding will continue the study that will culminate in a plan to replace this obsolete 1955 bridge over the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal connecting Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. |
|
Rudee Inlet |
Virginia Beach, VA |
Operations and Maintenance |
$200,000 |
This funding supports maintenance dredging to remove shoals from the inlet. |
|
James River Channel |
James River |
Operations and Maintenance |
$10.7 million |
This funding supports maintenance dredging to remove shoals that accumulate as much as 8 feet annually in portions of the James River. It will also fund surveys to monitor and react to changing river conditions. |
|
Chincoteague Inlet |
Chincoteague, VA |
Operations and Maintenance |
$250,000 |
This funding supports maintenance dredging to remove shoals in the inlet and surveys to monitor and report channel conditions to users, and to coordinate with the Coast Guard on buoys and channel markers. |
|
Lynnhaven Inlet |
Virginia Beach, VA |
Operations and Maintenance |
$325,000 |
This funding supports maintenance dredging to remove shoaling in the entrance channel and turning basin. |
|
Hampton Roads Prevention of Obstructive Deposits |
Hampton Roads, VA |
Operations and Maintenance |
$450,000 |
This funding will help patrol, investigate and coordinate with state and federal agencies to upgrade facilities to detect and prevent deposit of refuse and hazardous materials into navigable waterways. |
|
Waterway on the Coast of Virginia |
90-mile channel from the MD-VA line in Chincoteague Bay to the Chesapeake Bay |
Operations and Maintenance |
$1.75 million |
This funding supports maintenance dredging to provide vessels a protected 90-mile north-south route connecting Eastern Shore harbors to one another and to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. |
Additional details on each type of funding are below:
Construction funds are granted to build current projects.
Investigations funds are granted to advance projects through the study phase, which will end with a document analyzing what specific infrastructure is needed for a project, how much it will cost, and what percentage the federal government will fund.
Operations and Maintenance funds are granted to operate and maintain federal navigation channels and other permanent Army Corps infrastructure projects.
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