Craney Island

Craney Island SMECraney Island Project
Craney Island SME
Craney Island Project

Located near the mouth of the Elizabeth River, Craney Island was a battleground during the War of 1812. Today, the island is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and serves as a repository for dredged materials.

S&ME managed a multi-firm team to characterize the engineering behavior of the soft marine clays within and underlying Craney Island. Additionally, S&ME coordinated efforts to characterize potential off-shore borrow sites to locate suitable sand sources and predict their engineering behavior. S&ME was provided NTP for the project and completed all Phase 1 field investigations (valued at approximately $1.4 million).

Efforts were coordinated with the USACE-Norfolk District and Craney Island Design Partners (Moffatt & Nichol and Fugro Atlantic) to facilitate support of design efforts for the eastward expansion of Craney Island. This included an additional 580 acres of reclaimed land.

S&ME prepared on-shore and off-shore borrow source characterization reports.  The reports included a summary of existing instrumentation at the Island. In addition, S&ME prepared a preliminary evaluation of the existing and raised dike stability.

 Highlights

  • Environmentally-Sound Repository for Dredged Materials
  • Protection of Critical Habitats