Dredging Contract Awarded
The Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC) has selected Docks of the Bay Marine Construction from White Stone, Virginia as the contractor for dredging the Little Wicomico River in Northumberland County. (Notice of Award.)
The firm was selected as part of a competitive negotiation bidding process. The project is being funded by the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund (VWMF). The project includes dredging the channel to a required depth of 9 feet, making repairs to 300 feet of the jetty and placing the sandy dredged material on the beachfront south of the jetty.
In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly established the VWMF to support shallow-draft dredging across the Commonwealth. The NNPDC has received multiple VWMF funding awards to support regional navigation planning covering Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland Counties.
Initial Phase I study planning gathered data on 142 waterbodies in the Northern Neck. Nineteen waterbodies moved to a Phase II feasibility-level analysis based on shoaling severity, coastal structure counts, and economic usage.
Phase III study, which included five of the nineteen waterbodies, obtained sub-bottom cores and grain-size sampling, conducted bathymetric surveys, tested sediment for contamination, identified disposal & placement sites, finalized engineered channel designs with cost estimates, and prepared Joint Permit Applications or study reports. Phase III was completed earlier this year. Phase IV consists of utilizing the VWMF award to dredge the Little Wicomico River channel.
The NNPDC provides planning and technical assistance to Northern Neck localities; administers regional programs including environmental projects, economic development, tourism promotion, National Heritage Area administration, transportation planning, ridesharing, housing assistance, and other functions that support local government. The NNPDC’s office is located at The Regional Center in Warsaw.
Dredging Application Funded
The Northern Neck Planning District Commission’s application to the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund (VWMF) has been awarded $2.6 million.
Its purpose is the emergency maintenance dredging of the navigational channel at the mouth of the Little Wicomico River, in Northumberland County.
Starting in 2025, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) took over the administration of the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund. On Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Jerry W. Davis, the Executive Director of the Northern Neck Planning District Commission, presented the application’s merits to VMRC commissioners, who voted unanimously to approve it.
The Little Wicomico River is a federally authorized channel. It serves as a critical access point to the Chesapeake Bay for commercial watermen, recreational boaters, and emergency response vessels.
It has been over a decade since the last maintenance dredging of the Little Wicomico River was performed. Increased shoaling of its navigational channel has already closed passage to several vessels with drafts greater than its current average depths. Of particular concern is the impact this shoaling has had on the Smith Point Sea Rescue, the only all-volunteer sea rescue organization operating on the Chesapeake Bay.
The NNPDC’s application was made on behalf of Northumberland County and prepared with technical assistance from VIMS, Shore Consulting Group, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It enjoys the support of boaters and property owners in Northumberland County; citizen advisory groups; members of Smith Point Sea Rescue; the Virginia Waterman’s Association; and local, state, and federal elected officials.
Permitting and engineering design activities will continue in the coming months and be completed by early July 2026, when the funds become available and the project is expected to go out to bid.
###
In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund. It provides the opportunity for localities to receive funds for planning, design, and construction of dredge projects.
There are 123 working waterfronts in the Northern Neck of Virginia that facilitate commercial fishing, aquaculture, recreational boating, and boat building and repair.
The Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC) contracted with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the Shore Consulting Group (SCG) to develop a Regional Shallow Draft Channel Dredging Plan. The plan began by identifying 142 waterbodies with potential dredge needs in Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland Counties, and the Town of Colonial Beach.
The Initial Phase (Phase One) – lists 19 water bodies that emerged from the prioritization analysis.
The Feasibility Phase (Phase Two) – includes data collected and analyzed to provide information to the localities regarding the water bodies that may need to be dredged to maintain residential and economic usage.
Selected Studies (Phase Three) – includes further study of five water bodies that are experiencing shoaling. The five are Greenvale Creek in Lancaster County, the Little Wicomico River and Cranes Creek in Northumberland County, Farnham Creek in Richmond County, and Bonum Creek in Westmoreland County.
The study includes obtaining sub-bottom cores in the channel and sampling for grain size to determine the exact type of material that will be dredged, doing a bathymetric survey by a licensed surveyor to determine the volume of material that will need to be dredged.
Sediment will be sampled in each water body for possible chemical contamination. The study will also locate a disposal area(s) for each dredging project, verify and approve channel designs and approximate costs by a licensed engineer, and develop a Joint Permit Application (JPA) for each project that can be submitted for agency review.
Final Design and Preparation of Bid Documents (Phase Four) – $240,000 was appropriated in FY26 to complete the final design and preparation of bid documents for a dredging project at the Little Wicomico River in Northumberland County.
###