Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Carolyn Vadino
Phone: (917) 790-8306
E-mail: Carolyn.j.vadino@usace.army.mil
Corps Announces Start of Test Blasting Work for Kill Van Kull 50 Foot Deepening
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, today announced the start of a test drilling and blasting program within the Kill Van Kull. This program is part of the ongoing effort to deepen the Kill Van Kull, a main artery between the Upper Bay of New York Harbor and Newark Bay, to 50 feet to provide safe and efficient navigation for ships calling at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The test blasting program is being conducted to ensure all vibrations are within the allowable limits set by state, federal, and local government. Once test blasting is complete and materials have been reviewed, production blasting will commence. Production blasting is expected to start August 8th and last approximately 24 months. During the month of August, residents can expect up to two blasts per day between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Drilling operations will be conducted 24 hours a day.
Drilling and blasting will start west of the Bayonne Bridge in a predominantly industrial section of the channel adjacent to Shooter’s Island. Work will continue eastward through the channel during the contract duration. Noise monitors will be placed along the shorelines of Bayonne and Staten Island to monitor the drilling and blasting to ensure compliance with the local noise ordinances.
A blasting schedule is available online at:www.nan.usace.army.milhttp://www.bayonnenj.org
Residents may contact the Corps at (201) 433-9228 or Contract Drilling and Blasting (CDB) at (201) 339-6470 to register concerns regarding noise or blasting.
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the nation’s third largest container port. The existing channel depths do not permit access by many of today’s modern-day containerships. The port indirectly and directly supports more than 230,000 jobs in the New York and New Jersey area and provides consumer goods ranging from cocoa and orange juice to automobiles.
August 1, 2005