Charleston Harbor Post 45 Deepening: A Success Story through Collaboration

In 2010 the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) identified a need for widening and deepening the Charleston Harbor waterway network to address transportation inefficiencies of existing Post-Panamax cargo vessels and to prepare to accommodate Neo-Panamax vessels. The ensuing feasibility study, completed in 2015, was the first study to be initiated and completed using the USACE SMART Planning process to deliver the project through feasibility studies, authorization, and funding toward executing the deepening construction. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges realized during the project and to briefly describe the processes used to resolve each. These challenges included the extensive studies undertaken to complete the feasibility study and establish the project scope, maintaining project funding through federal and local sources, coordination with other projects in the harbor and their impact on procurement and execution, and accommodating safety and operational measures for unexploded ordinance and other obstructions in multiple parts of the project area.