The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, has awarded a $1.4 million contract for the maintenance dredging of Knapps Narrows Federal Navigation Channel near Tilghman Island to Southwind Construction of Evansville, Indiana.
The project will consist of the removal roughly 100,000 cubic yards of material from the channel to restore it to its authorized depth of 9 feet (MLLW), plus two feet of allowable overdepth, and a width of 75 feet.
Commenting this, Senator Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee , said: “ Knapps Narrows Channel allows efficient movement among the mouths of Harris Creek, the Choptank River and Eastern Bay, making it important to a wide variety of commercial and recreational users. As such, we are wise to invest in its integrity.”
“This navigation project is vital to Maryland’s economy, and we worked hard to ensure it was funded at the federal level and prioritized in the USACE’s budget ,” added Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees. “ By dredging the channel, we will ensure both commercial and recreational boats are able to move easily across the Chesapeake Bay.”
The work, which is expected to begin this winter and be finished in the spring, will ensure continued safe navigation along the federal channel.
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