The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has awarded Curtin Maritime Corporation a US$31.52 million contract for maintenance dredging at Maryland’s Port of Baltimore.
The Long Beach, California-based contractor will remove around 2.25 million cubic yards (1.72 million cubic metres) from deep-draught federal navigation channels. Completion is estimated by March 31, 2027.
The firm-fixed-price award followed an internet solicitation that received three bids. The USACE obligated the full US$31,519,647 at award, while the contract’s total base-and-options value is US$31,671,146.59.
The award will draw on civil construction appropriations for fiscal years 2023 and 2026, together with civil operations and maintenance appropriations for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026. The USACE’s Baltimore District is the contracting activity.
Dredging is planned in the Craighill Entrance, Craighill Angle, Cutoff Angle and Upper Range channels on the Maryland approach, as well as the Brewerton Angle and Curtis Bay channels in Baltimore Harbor.
The project schedule provides for work from November 2026 with about 120 calendar days of performance after notice to proceed. The solicitation specifies a depth of 50 feet (15 metres) at mean lower low water, with one to two feet (0.3 to 0.6 metres) of allowable overdepth.
Clamshell or bucket dredgers will load sediment into scows for transport to placement sites. About 1.538 million cubic yards (1.176 million cubic metres) from the approach channels will go to Poplar Island.
An additional 700,000 cubic yards (540,000 cubic metres) from the Baltimore Harbor channels is allocated to the Cox Creek Dredged Material Containment Facility. The site has been used for dredged material placement since 2005 and has a stated overall capacity of 14.7 million cubic yards (11.2 million cubic metres).
The new award covers routine channel maintenance. The separate Sparrows Point Container Terminal project involves permitted deepening of its channel and turning basin to 52 feet (16 metres), with material removal put at 4.2 million cubic yards (3.2 million cubic metres).
