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March/April 2014
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ThePort of Baltimore
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29
]
TheMarylandPortAdministration
(MPA) is reviewing ideas from theprivate
sector about how to convertmaterial
from theCoxCreekDredgedMaterial
Containment Facility intoa lightweight
aggregateused inmasonryblocks, concrete,
hot-mixasphalt andgeotechnical fill.
Thedevelopment of apublic-private
partnership (P3) couldbepart of a long-
term strategy tomaintainBaltimoreHarbor
shipping lanes by increasingdredged
material placement capacitywhilealso
creating an environmentally friendly
constructionproduct.
ThePort of Baltimore,whichhas a
50-foot-deep shipping channel, is currently
oneof only twoports on theU.S. East Coast
able tohandle large super-post-Panamax
ships. Tomaintain these shipping channels,
about 1.5million cubic yards ofmaterial
must bedredged from theBaltimoreHarbor
annually.
MPAExecutiveDirector James J.White
said the long-term challenge facing all
ports is finding space toplacedredged
material, and that theMPA is takingan
original approachby exploring options
with theprivate sector topotentially
increasedredged
material placement
capacitywhile
alsodetermining
if there is a
cost-effective
and competitive
marketplace for
the resulting
construction
product.
“Dredging is
the lifeline of thePort of Baltimore,”White
said. “This processwouldprovide relief to
thedwindling capacity at current sites like
CoxCreek.”
TheMPA,which successfully
completedademonstrationproject in
2012by convertingdredgedmaterial into
a lightweight aggregate, is targeting late
winter of this year for adecision regarding
next steps for apotential P3 solicitation
process.
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InnovativeReuseof
Dredged
Material
BeingExplored
TheMPA
reviewsall available
technology to improve
waterqualityandcomply
withTotalMaximum
DailyLoad (TMDL)
considerations.
BILLMCALLEN
BILLMCALLEN
