USACE: Working hard to keep navigation open on Mississippi River

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District’s Dredge Goetz is working hard to keep navigation open on the Mississippi River just south of St. Louis, Missouri.

The Dredge Goetz is 225-feet long, 40-feet wide and 600 tons. Its steel hull is 8-feet deep, and its draft is 5 feet. It can dredge a maximum of 1,000 cubic yards per hour up to 28 feet.

According to USACE, it is powered by a 4,010 hp diesel engine.

The Goetz has a 22-inch suction pipe diameter with a 20-inch discharge pipe diameter. It has 28-feet dredging depth capability and a 275-foot cut swing.

With its booster barge, it is capable of pumping sand about 2 miles at 1,000 cubic yards per hour.

Dredge Goetz maintains 850 miles of the Upper Mississippi River, 355 miles of the Illinois River and 24 miles of the St. Croix River.