Photo By Andrew Stamer | The Corps of Engineers-owned special-purpose dredge, Currituck, paid a visit to New...... read more read more
By Jack Karalius
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District
CONCORD, Mass. -- The Corps of Engineers-owned special-purpose dredge, Currituck, paid a visit to New England this spring – as it does almost every year. The Currituck is a self-propelled, self-contained, split-hull hopper dredge, based out of the Corps’ Wilmington District.
The Currituck is 150 feet long, 25 feet wide, and has a bin capacity of 300 cubic yards. The Currituck is a hydraulic dredge that uses pumps to suction bottom sediments through two arms into a hopper aboard the dredge. When the hopper is full, the Currituck moves to the designated disposal site, and the material is released by splitting the hull.
The Currituck is economical, safe to operate, and easy to maintain. Its shallow draft and ability to withstand sea conditions other types of dredges cannot make it a valuable resource in dredging shallow draft inlets, like those found in New England, in a timely and cost effective manner.
The Currituck spent six weeks in New England District territory in May and June and dredged four harbors – Clinton Harbor in Clinton, Conn., Patchogue River/Harbor in Westbrook, Conn., Harbor of Refuge in Block Island, R.I. and Green Harbor in Marshfield, Mass. It removed the most shoaled portions of the entrance channels of these harbors, thereby increasing navigational safety.
The Currituck removed about 6,000 cubic yards of material from the 8-foot-deep channel of Clinton Harbor, about 15,000 cubic yards from the 8-foot-deep channel in the Patchogue River, about 20,000 cubic yards from the 15-foot-deep channel in Block Island, and shoaled portions of the 6- and 8-foot-deep channel in Green Harbor.
The dredged material was placed at nearshore disposal sites, off nearby beaches, about one to six miles away from the dredge sites.
The use of the nearshore disposal sites keeps the sandy dredged material in the littoral zone.
The material will act as a feeder berm, and natural wave action will distribute the sand in the nearshore environment and nourish the beaches.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.02.2011 16:28 |
| Story ID: | 79452 |
| Location: | CONCORD, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 87 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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