The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, said in its latest announcement that their Poplar Island development program is progressing very well.
This work is part of Baltimore District’s Poplar Island expansion project, which is a partnership with the Maryland Port Administration, to create an additional 575 acres using clean material dredged from the Maryland Chesapeake Bay approach channels to the Port of Baltimore.
Large rocks and sand are placed to create dikes to outline the expansion cells, allowing dredge material to later be placed within the cell. These submerged rocks are currently being placed within the area marked by the cautionary buoys and will only pose a hazard to vessels that venture inside this zone.
USACE said in their latest release that they are urging boaters to steer clear of ongoing construction activities and submerged rocks marked by cautionary buoys in these areas.
“Public safety is always our number one priority and we’re continuing efforts to inform the public of the construction area that extends from Poplar Island and the cautionary buoys outlining it, ” said Justin Callahan, project manager for the Baltimore District’s Poplar Island project .
“We’ve installed additional buoys to continue to caution and alert boaters to the very high risk of their vessel hitting rocks if crossing into the construction zone.”
The Corps will add an additional eight cautionary buoys to the already approximately 32 cautionary buoys outlining the perimeter of the construction zone by July 3.
A total of approximately 40 cautionary buoys will surround the construction zone, which extends more than a mile north of the existing island. More than half of these buoys are lighted with danger and “keep out” signs written on the buoy, while the other half are orange buoys.