Article by News Briefs
We wanted to share some updates to the navigation improvement project for the Ocean City Inlet that was approved in 2019. This project is intended to address the need for continued dredging to keep the channel at the required 10’ depth that is challenging from a resource and funding perspective.
Notable to the project is a proposal to rebuild or fill in current gaps in the southern breakwater as well as extending the southern breakwater further northwest (note Breakwater #1 in the image).
The following is from the Army Corps of Engineering describing the project and the image outlines the proposed changes.
The Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is proposing to realign approximately 3,360 linear feet of the Ocean City Inlet navigation channel to immediately south of its current position where most water is already at the federally-authorized 10-foot depth. Dredging of inlet bottom sand would be required locally. USACE also proposes to construct two 300-foot long rock structures to close gaps in the existing breakwaters at the north end of Assateague Island (600 feet total) and to construct a 150-foot long jetty extending to the northwest into Sinepuxent Bay. The National Park Service is a cooperating agency for preparation of the draft Environmental Assessment (EA). Worcester County, MD, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) are the local project sponsors. The navigation improvements are proposed under Section 107 of the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP).
From 2019 to 2021, USACE investigated physical environmental conditions, conducted extensive public and agency coordination, formulated alternatives, and modeled effects of alternatives using sediment and hydrologic computer models. The proposed navigation improvements are based on these economic, engineering, and environmental analyses. §
