Q: With all of the money pledged and the political powers giving the full speed ahead to the Savannah River project, which will dredge and deepen it, what will happen to the wreck of the CSS Georgia?
—R.E. Zaworski, Sandy Springs
A: Congress must finalize a water projects bill before work can begin on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP), which will deepen the channel from 42 to 47 feet, Billy Birdwell, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman based in Savannah, told Q&A on the News in an email. A congressional committee is meeting about the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which if approved, would allow SHEP to continue. “In the view of the administration, we cannot move forward without the Congressional reauthorization contained in the Water Resources Development Act,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, said in a subcommittee hearing in late March. If the WRDA is approved, the CSS Georgia, a Civil War ironclad, also must be removed from the channel it’s located in before work can continue in that part of the river. “Deepening other sections of the channel and conducting other project actions can happen at the same time we work on the Georgia,” Birdwell wrote. He added that the entire wreck of the CSS Georgia, which is owned by the U.S. Navy and classified as a captured enemy vessel, hasn’t been located. A 5,000-pound piece was salvaged in November to test the removal process, but the “ship is not intact, although some very large, heavy pieces remain somewhat together,” he wrote. The CSS Georgia never saw action before being scuttled near Old Fort Jackson on Dec. 21, 1864.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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