Dania Cutoff Canal Deepening Project Kicks Off (USA)

The Florida Inland Navigation District and our partners, the City of Dania Beach, Broward County and Port Everglades, announce project commencement on the Dania Cutoff Canal Deepening Project.

The Dania Cutoff Canal is located on the south side of Port Everglades and is located within the City of Dania Beach in Broward County, Florida. The existing canal was constructed to perform several functions including stormwater management, boating access to the Middle and New River Systems, and for economic development.

Since construction, a number of boatyards and marinas have been developed on the canal and today the canal hosts a number of boatyards capable of working on megayachts.

The canal will be deepened from its current ~10 feet of depth to 17 feet deep from Port Everglades west to the U.S. 1 bridge. Approximately 102,000 cyds. of soft limerock and silts will be dredged by an environmental clamshell bucket dredge. The materials will be placed in a barge next to the dredge and then will be transported to the Dredge Material Management Area (DMMA) at Port Everglades. The materials will be offloaded from the barge into the DMMA where they will be dried.

Once dried, the materials will be loaded in trucks for transport to the landfill. Additionally, two ship berths at the Port will be maintenance dredged by the same contractor during this project and several marine facilities on the canal will be deepened at the owner’s expense to take advantage of the project.

The deepening project will provide safer and increased access by mega yachts to the boatyards on the canal. The Navigation District performed an economic analysis that indicates that this project may result in an economic output increase of between $3.6 and $9.2 million per year and 24 to 38 new jobs at these megayacht facilities. Additionally, a commercial shipping company on the canal will be able to load and transport more cargo to the Bahamas.

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Dredging Today Staff, July 10, 2012; Image: aicw.org