The James River Partnership: Maintaining Unrestricted Navigation

The James River Navigation Channel stretches 90 miles from Newport News at Hampton Roads to the head of navigation at Richmond, Virginia. This historic waterway with a currently maintained depth of 25 feet carries over six million tons of domestic and international cargo in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the early 1990s, frequent shoaling and deferred maintenance dredging caused the Virginia Pilot Association to restrict vessel draft to as shallow as 18 feet in the upper reach of the river for vessels in international commerce. This paper will present a review of the actions taken and the partnerships developed for the planning, finance, design, and ongoing dredging activities to return full depth, year-round navigation to the James River; including dredge material placement site improvements, accelerated maintenance dredging and channel realignment. It will also discuss the coordination between the public and private terminals, pilots, ship agents, and the federal government to maximize the potential for the James River and plan for its future.