Jacksonville, Fla. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District asks the public to use caution in the waterways at Mile Point on the St. Johns River. Heavy construction is ongoing in the Chicopit Bay and Helen Cooper Floyd Park area near Mayport Naval Station.
Earlier this month, Manson Construction Co. started construction on the Mile Point Training Wall Reconfiguration Project, which will improve vessel navigation by rerouting the navigable waters in the Chicopit Bay and the Inter-Coastal Waterway system. The Corps estimates construction will continue through November 2016.
Mile Point is where the St. Johns River meets the Intracoastal Waterway. This area experiences difficult crosscurrents at ebb tide, which restricts navigation for vessels with a transit draft greater than 33 feet inbound and 36 feet outbound.
The navigation improvement project will relocate and reconfigure the existing training wall, restore Great Marsh Island, and create a flow improvement channel in Chicopit Bay.
Several changes will occur in the waterway during construction, including removing two existing navigable waterways in Chicopit Bay. Large dredging and other heavy equipment in the waterway during construction may also affect navigation. The Corps asks boaters to please remain vigilant, especially during hours of darkness. Safety, as always, is the number one priority on this project.
For a navigation emergency, please contact the U.S. Coast Guard at 904-564-7513. All navigation notices are posted on the Coast Guard Region 7 webpage at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=lnmDistrict®ion=7. Mariners can also register for emailed local navigation notices on this website.
For more Mile Point project information, please contact the Corps’ Jacksonville District at 904-232-1630 or go to www.saj.usace.army.mil and click ports in the right column.
Release no. 16-011