BALTIMORE, MD — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, awarded a $39.9 million contract to Seacoast Marine Construction Inc., of Long Island, New York, for restoration work at Barren Island, part of the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration project in Dorchester County, Maryland.
The contract award ushers in the second phase of Mid-Bay restoration work on Barren Island including construction of two bird islands adjacent to the existing island and connected to the breakwater; construction of stone sill structures; design and installation of spillway structures; and excavation of material from the Honga & Tar Bay federal navigation channels and placement within a contained area adjacent to Barren Island.
Approximately 335,000 cubic yards of material consisting of mud, sand, silt, shell, and combinations thereof will be removed via hydraulic dredge from the Honga River channel to its authorized depth of 7 feet and a width ranging from 60 to 140 feet.
“We are proud to announce this contract award that will provide vital maintenance of the Honga and Tar Bay channels, serve and strengthen the region, energize the economy, and reduce navigation safety risks,” Baltimore District Commander Col. Frank Pera said. “Our continued partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation’s [MDOT] Port Administration on Mid-Bay will build on innovative and proven solutions that benefit the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem for generations to come.”
The Mid-Bay project, in partnership with MDOT MPA, includes restoration of 2,072 acres of lost remote island habitat on James Island and 72 acres of remote island habitat on Barren Island, using material dredged from the Port of Baltimore approach channels and shallow draft federal navigation channels, respectively. Habitat may include mudflats, low marsh, high marsh, islands, ponds, channels, and upland areas.
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“We are happy to be working with our great partners at the Army Corps of Engineers on this exciting Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island coastal restoration project,” MPA Executive Director Jonathan Daniels said. “Mid-Bay will provide us with 30 years of placement capacity, allowing us to continue safely and responsibly dredging our channels to allow for ultra-large ships to continue serving the Port of Baltimore while also rebuilding two barrier islands, enhancing wildlife habitat, and creating additional shoreline protection for Dorchester County.”
Barren Island is anticipated to begin acceptance of Honga River dredged material in late 2025 or early 2026, with James Island accepting dredged material around 2030, after sill and dike construction efforts to hold the material are completed at each location. The Honga River channel was last dredged by USACE in 2009.
USACE received more than $80 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2022 to complete the design and preconstruction activities for the Barren Island component of this project, to include the first construction contract award. The Mid-Bay project is anticipated to be completed in 2067, providing more than 30 years of capacity to place nearly 95 million cubic yards of dredged material.
Poplar Island, the ongoing ecosystem restoration project by USACE and MDOT MPA, wrapped up construction of an expansion effort in January 2021 that provides substantial ecosystem benefits and additional dredge material capacity for the approach channels to the Port of Baltimore until 2032.
