THE PORT OF JACKSONVILLE, FLA.

PORT AND HARBOR CONDITIONS

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Jacksonville Harbor is in the northeastern part of the State of Florida, and by water is 126 statute miles south of Savannah, Ga., 228 miles south of Charleston, S. C., and 367 miles south of Wilmington, N. C. It is situated on St. Johns River about 28 miles above the entrance. The harbor embraces the total width of St. Johns River, extending about 1 mile above and 7 miles below the county highway bridge.

The entrance from the ocean is between two converging stone jetties, which extend out across the ocean bar. The jetties are parallel and 1,600 feet apart at the sea ends. A channel 30 feet deep at local mean low water and not less than 300 feet wide has been provided from the ocean to Jacksonville. Between the jetties the channel is 800 feet wide and at the bends it is from 600 to 1,400 feet wide. At Mayport, 3 miles from the entrance, the channel is widened to form an anchorage basin 800 feet in width beyond the channel limits which has been dredged to a depth of 30 feet. At Jacksonville a depth of 24 feet is available between the channel and the pierhead line for a distance of about 5 miles below the county highway bridge.

Above Jacksonville the St. Johns River has an improved channel to Palatka (55 miles) 200 feet wide and 13 feet deep, and thence to Sanford (90 miles) a channel 100 feet wide and 8 feet deep.

From the St. Johns River northward to Norfolk, Va., there is a continuous inland waterway along the Atlantic coast with project depths varying from 7 to 12 feet and bottom widths varying from 75 to 150 feet in the land cuts and narrow creeks to 300 feet in open waters. While Norfolk, Va., is the northerly terminus of this intracoastal waterway, vessels can reach Philadelphia, Pa., and Trenton, N. J., by using the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Also from the St. Johns River southward to Miami, Fla., on Biscayne Bay, a distance of 349 miles, a similar inland waterway has been dredged through canals and natural channels to a depth of 8 feet with a width of 100 feet. In April 1936 the controlling depths were 7 feet in the

section from St. Johns River to Fernandina and 7.5 feet between St. Johns River and Miami.

For information concerning the Intracoastal Waterway from Miami to Key West, Fla., see Port of Miami, Fla., Port Series No. 8, Part 2.

TIDES

The mean range of tide is 5.3 feet on the bar, 4.5 feet at Mayport, 2.0 feet at Dames Point (14 miles above the entrance) and about 1 foot at Jacksonville; while the extreme range is 7.4 feet on the bar, 6.5 feet at Mayport, 4 feet at Dames Point, and 2.8 at Jacksonville, High and low water occur approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes later at the foot of Hogan Street in Jacksonville than at the jetties. Strong northeasterly winds raise the water level about 2 feet at Mayport and 2 feet at Jacksonville, and strong southwesterly winds lower the water level about 1% feet at Mayport and 1 foot at Jacksonville.

TIDAL CURRENTS

There are strong tidal currents in St. Johns River as far as Dames Point, and navigation at the entrance between the jetties requires special care. With northerly winds there is a strong southerly set on the flood at the end of the north jetty, and the conditions here are often dangerous, especially in heavy weather. The mean velocities in the channel at the strength of the current are about as follows: Mayport, 21⁄2 knots; New Bern, 2 knots; Phoenix Park, 11⁄2 knots Jacksonville (off Washington St.), 2 knots. The velocity of the flood is increased by northeasterly and easterly winds, and the ebb by southwesterly and westerly winds. When not affected by strong winds, the tidal currents have little velocity above Jacksonville.

ANCHORAGES

It is not necessary for vessels to wait outside the bar for high water. At Mayport, about 3 miles from the entrance, there is an anchorage basin about 3,000 feet long and 800 feet wide, beyond the channel limits, with a least depth of 30 feet; the bottom is sand, but vessels here are sheltered from all winds.

In the vicinity of the municipal terminals there is an anchorage about 2 miles in length, 1,200 feet in width and with an available depth of from 24 to 35 feet. The Quarantine anchorage is located in this area about opposite the city electric plant.

About opposite Commodore Point, there is an anchorage about 5,500 feet in length, 700 feet in width and with depths of from 24 to 53 feet.

Numerous other temporary anchorages are available between the entrance and Jacksonville.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Open season for navigation.—This harbor is open for navigation Ehroughout the year.

Prevailing winds. The prevailing winds are northeasterly during the fall and winter months and southwesterly during the spring and summer months.

Fogs.-Dense fogs in the vicinity of the port are negligible. What relatively few fogs occur are not "ground fogs" but mostly radiation fogs, arising from ocean winds, and are dissipated with sunlight, lasting on the average not longer than 2 to 3 hours.

Precipitation. The mean annual precipitation, compiled from the Weather Bureau records for 64 years, is 50.25 inches. The table below gives the mean precipitation for each month.

Temperature. The daily mean minimum temperature, compiled from the Weather Bureau records for 62 years, is 61.1, and the daily mean maximum temperature is 77.6.

Daily mean maximum temperature for 62 years, degrees Fahrenheit

Daily mean minimum temperature for 62 years, degrees Fahrenheit

Maximum wind velocities (miles per hour) and direction for 64 years

2.70

2.98 3.16 2.69 4.09 5.86 6.53 5.86 7.07 4.40 2.01 2.90

BRIDGES

50.25

No bridges cross the St. Johns River below Jacksonville. There are two bridges at Jacksonville; one is a highway bridge owned by Duval County, the other a railway bridge owned by the Florida East Coast Railway Co. The following table gives detailed information concerning them:

HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS BY THE UNITED STATES

St. Johns River, Fla., Jacksonville to the ocean. The original project for the improvement of St. Johns River below Jacksonville was adopted by the River and Harbor Act of June 14, 1880, and provided for a channel 15 feet deep at mean low water.

The existing project, adopted by the River and Harbor Acts of March 2, 1907, June 25, 1910, June 5, 1920, July 3, 1930, and August 30, 1935, provides for a channel from the ocean to Jacksonville 30 feet deep at local mean low water, 300 feet wide in the straight reaches with 400 feet at three cuts near Jacksonville and with increased widths at the bends through the jetties, with an anchorage basin at Mayport (3 miles from the entrance) 800 feet in width beyond the channel limits; the project also provides for a channel 24 feet deep along the pierhead line from Hogan Creek to the Florida East Coast Railway bridge, and for dredging Terminal Channel 30 feet 400 feet wide along the terminals on the west bank of the river between Commodore Point and deep water just above Six Mile Creek Cut.

The project was completed May 1936 except the widening of three cuts near Jacksonville to 400 feet and the dredging of Terminal Channel at Jacksonville, all as authorized by the River and Harbor Act of August 30, 1935. On May 1, 1936, project depth of 30 feet, with not less than 200 feet width, existed from the entrance to Jacksonville, but it is expected that this limiting width will be increased to 400 feet at an early date; the full project depth of 24 feet in the harbor could be carried to the pierhead line opposite Jacksonville between Hogan Creek and the Florida East Coast Railway bridge. A portion of the inner end of the north jetty had been capped with concrete; and the jetties and revetments were in good condition except the south jetty at the inner end, the Browns Creek revetment, and the Dames Point training wall.

St. Johns River, Jacksonville to Palatka.-The existing project, which was adopted by the River and Harbor Acts of March 3, 1899, and March 2, 1919, provides for a channel 200 feet wide and 13 feet deep at mean low water from Jacksonville to Palatka, a distance of 55 miles. The channel has been completed.

St. Johns River, Palatka to Lake Harney.—The existing project, which was adopted by the River and Harbor Act of June 25, 1910, provides for a channel 8 feet deep at mean low water and 100 feet wide from Palatka to Sanford (90 miles) and 5 feet deep at mean low water and 100 feet wide from Sanford to Lake Harney (25 miles). The channel has been completed.

Intracoastal Waterway between Beaufort, S. C., and St. Johns River (Cumberland Sound to St. Johns River section).—The existing project, which was adopted by the River and Harbor Act of March 4, 1913, provides for a channel 7 feet deep at mean low water and 100 feet wide from Fernandina Harbor to St. Johns River, a distance of 25 miles. This channel has been completed.

The remaining sections of the intracoastal waterway northward to Norfolk, Va., are under the supervision of the United States Engineer offices at Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S. C., Wilmington, N. C., and Norfolk, Va., respectively.

Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville to Miami, Fla.-The existing project, which was adopted by the River and Harbor Acts of January 21, 1927, and July 3, 1930, provides for an inland waterway in general 100 feet wide and 8 feet deep at local mean low water from Jacksonville to Miami, Fla., a distance of 349 miles, following the coastal route. This waterway has been completed. The controlling depth in April 1936, was 7.5 feet. For information concerning the extension of the intracoastal waterway southward from Miami see report on Miami, Port Series No. 8, part 2.

PUBLIC TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS

The city of Jacksonville acquired, under authority of a special act of the Florida Legislature in 1912, a strip of approximately 11⁄2 miles of frontage on the St. Johns River for the purpose of erecting municipal docks and terminals. The terminal has an area of about 144 acres which has been reclaimed and made solid behind interlocking sheet steel bulkheading.

In addition to a considerable area suitable for open storage, the terminal has three piers. Pier no. 1, 890 feet long and 245 feet wide, has been leased to the Refrigerated Steamship Line, Inc., which has constructed thereon a precooling plant with a capacity of 72,000 boxes of citrus fruits. Pier no. 2 is 960 feet long and 230 feet wide, and has two transit sheds 73 by 800 feet each, for handling and storing general cargo and bulk freight. Pier no. 3 is 975 feet long and 345