News Stories

  • June

    USACE Marks 250 Years with Pivotal Support to the Army’s Birthday

    As the U.S. Army celebrated its 250th anniversary June 14 with a birthday festival and parade in the nation's capital, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was hard at work behind the scenes and on the logistical front lines. In a powerful intersection of history and engineering excellence, USACE’s contributions helped ensure parade success while also symbolizing its own 250th anniversary of building and defending the nation.
  • May

    USACE Navigation mission critical to Armed Forces’ strategic readiness

    When the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) needs to move over 1,000 trucks, trailers, and tons of equipment for a large training exercise, they rely on the cost-effectiveness and convenience of the nation’s waterways.
  • The Corps Environment – Spring 2025 edition now available

    The Spring 2025 edition of The Corps Environment is now available! This publication highlights how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is turning environmental challenges into mission-ready solutions. Content in this issue includes ongoing projects and initiatives from across the Army environmental community that are leveraging environmental stewardship as a force multiplier — enhancing military readiness, strengthening strategic partnerships and supporting community well-being.
  • USACE Completes Two-Week Regional Power Mission Exercise, Prepares for Upcoming Hurricane Season

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) successfully concluded a two-week Regional Power Mission Exercise on May 16, enhancing its readiness to provide critical temporary emergency power in the wake of a major disaster.
  • U.S. Engineering Team Assesses Colón, Panama’s Infrastructure Challenges, Strengthening Bilateral Partnership

    A team from the U.S. Army’s 553rd Forward Engineer Support Team-Advance (FEST-A) drove around important parts of the city of Colón, Panama, surveying the stormwater and wastewater systems on May 13, 2025. The survey was designed to find ways to bolster the ongoing partnership between the United States and Panama while addressing one of Panama’s largest city’s long-standing infrastructure issues.
  • OPTIC: Transforming Mission Planning with Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation

    The proliferation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in civil works, emergency response, and military applications is the primary driver for development of the Operator’s Tool for Information Collection (OPTIC). Designed to meet operational needs, OPTIC leverages decades of experience to improve mission planning, operational tracking, and data-driven decisions for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
  • April

    What is a Sapper? 250 Years of “Badass” Engineers

    In the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the term sapper carries weight. For 250 years, sappers have served as elite combat engineers, supporting frontline infantry in every war throughout American history.
  • March

    Double Duty: Chris Stewarts’ Service in and out of Uniform

    Chris "CJ" Stewart seamlessly balances his dual roles as a federal civilian logistics management specialist and an Army Reservist. Serving within the Resource Integration Division (RID) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Logistics Activity (ULA), Stewart's civilian duties involve assessing logistics through the Command Logistics Review Program (CLRP). Simultaneously, as a Motor Transport Operator (88M) in the Army Reserves, his military focus is also squarely on logistics. Stewart recently completed a year-long activation based in Poland, where his mission involved deterring, defending against, and potentially defeating adversarial aggression. His logistical support stretched across multiple countries, including Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Germany. During his deployment, Stewart held multiple critical command roles in addition to his regular duties, including SHARP Ambassador Program representative, Suicide Prevention Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC), Liaison Officer NCOIC, and Unit Movement Officer NCOIC.
  • USACE Aviation Program Office: Enhancing Efficiency and Compliance in UAS Operations

    The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Aviation Program Office (APO) plays a pivotal role in advancing crewed and uncrewed aviation missions across the organization. Established to meet the growing demands of Civil Works, Emergency Response, and Combatant Command operations, the APO serves as the central aviation authority for USACE, ensuring the safe, legal, and efficient operation of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS).
  • February

    The Corps Environment – Winter 2025 edition now available

    The Winter 2025 edition of The Corps Environment is now available! This edition features ongoing projects and initiatives that are proactively considering the environment and influencing partnerships in support of military readiness and community well-being.

News Releases

Rockaway Project Resumes as Crews Increase Efforts

Published Nov. 9, 2020
Updated: Nov. 9, 2020
Col. Luzzatto visits Rockaway

Colonel Matthew Luzzatto, Commander, New York District, is briefed on progress at the Rockaway project in Rockaway NY.

Crews resume work at Rockaway.

Crews resume beach work at Rockaway.

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, Chief of Engineers, visited New York District.

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, Chief of Engineers, visited New York District to oversee work beginning on the Rockaway Project in Rockaway New York.

Rockaway, NY -  Beach work on the Rockaway Peninsula is in full swing as the long-awaited East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet, and Jamaica Bay Project gets underway in Rockaway, New York. There has been an authorization for the project since 1965, the Rockaway shoreline has experienced severe hurricanes and northeasters over the last 40 years. In 1960 Hurricane Donna caused $8,774,000 (1960 price level) in damages, including 6,000 homes and hundreds of commercial establishments and  1962 another storm inflicted $8,450,400 (1962 price level) in damages to the Rockaway Peninsula.

After Hurricane Sandy Congress allocated more funds to construct a project on the Rockaway Peninsula, and a Beach replenishment project was performed shortly thereafter. In May of 2019 the Corps and the City of New York laid an additional 348,000 cubic yards of sand at Rockaway Beach to replace lost sand due to heavy erosion after back-to-back nor’easters in March of 2019.

The larger main-construction project is currently underway, and Contract 1 consists of multiple beach improvements for Rockaway. This contract was awarded in June of 2020 to H&L Contracting LLC for the amount of $113.9M. Two types of armor stone are being delivered to the beach here in Rockaway to prepare for the beginning of groin construction. Groins are stone structures that are meant to slow down natural beach erosion. Rockaway will be getting 14 new groins, while 5 others will be refurbished, in continuing efforts to further protect the peninsula and reduce coastal storm risk. The remains of aging timber piers along the project area will also be removed.

The groins will be made up of armor stone. Type B armor stone is typically 3-7 tons, while type A armor stone is 7-12 tons. Both types of armor stone are being excavated from quarries in New Jersey. Bedding stone will also be used as a foundation for the groins with core stones lining the inside of the groins. The groins will finally be capped off with type A and B armor stones.

Two 1250 Rock Handling Excavators are placing the armor stones along the project area along with a 374 Excavator with a bucket that will move sand. There is a haul truck that is bringing armor stone to the staging area for the groins along with a front-end payloader that loads the hauler.
The beaches are currently closed in 500-600 foot sections in order to allow work to continue as well as not to restrict access to the beach during this mild fall season. More closures are expected this winter season as work continues on the groins. Groin work is expected to resume until March or April of 2021, then the next phase. Contract 2, which will begin and consist of a reinforced dune construction, and pedestrian beach crossovers made of timber structures for beach access spanning the new dunes for access from the boardwalk to the beach.  More sand placement in a later Contract 3 will occur as well as  Jamaica Bay side improvements which are currently in the design phase.

This project is being constructed in coordination with the City of New York, The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the National Park Service, and NYC Parks.
 


Mississippi Valley Division

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