Dredging the Brewerton Channel Eastern Extension

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock of Oak Brook, Illinois, is making good progress dredging one of the channels associated with the Baltimore Harbor.

Image source: USACE

According to the Army Corps, crews are currently dredging roughly 950k cubic yards of material from the Brewerton Channel Eastern Extension, ensuring continued safe navigation for vessels going in and out of the Baltimore Harbor.

The works to dredge five Maryland channels and the York Spit Channel in Virginia, worth up to approximately $56.2 million, were awarded to GLDD as two separate contracts.

Under the two contracts, the following channels used by large container ships traveling to and from Port of Baltimore facilities will be dredged to their respective authorized dimensions, plus allowable over depth of 1 foot:

  • Brewerton Angle (Maryland) to a depth of 51 feet and width of 700 feet (roughly 170,000 cubic yards);
  • Brewerton Channel (Maryland) to a depth of 51 feet and width of 700 feet (roughly 305,000 cubic yards);
  • Brewerton Channel Eastern Extension (Maryland) 36 feet and width of 600 feet (roughly 950,000 cubic yards);
  • Tolchester Channel (Maryland) to a depth of 36 feet and width of 600 feet (roughly 1.2 million cubic yards);
  • Northwest Branch East Channel (Maryland) to a depth of 50 feet and width of 700 feet (roughly 160,000 cubic yards);
  • York Spit Channel (Virginia) to a depth of 51 feet and width of 800 feet (roughly 2.68 million cubic yards).

Dredging associated with the York Spit Channel contract is tentatively scheduled to begin in May.