Col. Jeff Palazzini, district commander, and John Handeland, mayor of Nome, conducted a signing ceremony for the project partnership agreement at the Port of Nome Modification Project on Jan. 25. This project will provide larger vessels with improved access to Nome’s existing harbor by enlarging the outer basin and creating a new deep-water basin at a depth of minus 40 feet. Dredging is required to deepen and maintain both basins and their associated navigation channels. Currently, ship transportation is limited by existing depths in the outer basin of 22 feet. “Today we are not only celebrating the start of a port modification, but also recognizing a regional and national milestone,” Palazzini said at the event. “As the need for economic stability and national security in the Arctic grows ever more important, USACE stands with Alaskan communities and the broader American nation as we engineer solutions to our Nation’s toughest challenges in the far north.”