• Freight Fluidity for the Port of Baltimore: Vessel Approach and Maritime Mobility Metrics

    Abstract: The United States Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with maintaining waterborne transportation system elements. Understanding channel utilization by vessels informs decisions regarding operations, maintenance, and investments in those elements. Historically, investment decisions have been informed by safety, environmental considerations, and projected economic benefits of alleviating channel restrictions or shipping delays (usually derived from models). However, quantifying causes and impacts of shipping delays based on actual historical vessel location data and then identifying which causes could be ameliorated through investment has been out of reach until recently. In this study, Automatic Identification System vessel position reports were used to develop quantitative measures of transit and dwell-time reliabilities for commercial vessels calling at the Port of Baltimore, Maryland. This port has two deep-water approaches: Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Descriptive metrics were determined for each approach, including port cycle time, harbor stay hours, travel time inbound, and travel time outbound. Then, additional performance measures were calculated: baseline travel time, travel time index, and planning time index. The key finding of this study is that the majority of variability in port cycle time is due to the variability in harbor stay hours, not from channel conditions or channel restrictions.
  • 22-007 Dworshak Dam releases to fluctuate between 6,100 and 8,500 cfs in first week of February

    AHSAHKA, Idaho –Dworshak Dam will continue drafting to meet flood control targets through the end of January. Releases are expected to remain between 6,100 and 7,700 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the end of the month.
  • Park Rangers Offer Public Tours of Lock and Dam 24 in Conjunction with Eagle Days

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rivers Project Office, is partnering with the City of Clarksville to bring additional experiences to their annual Clarksville Eagle Days. Throughout the two-day event, USACE Park Rangers will offer free public tours of Lock and Dam 24, which is not typically open for public touring.
  • Army Corps of Engineers, UC Berkeley repatriate human remains to Wiyot Tribe

    SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District and the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully repatriated 20 human remains and 136 objects of historical, traditional and cultural importance to the Wiyot Tribe of Loleta, Calif. The collection resided in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. The remains and associated items were uncovered in 1946 during construction activities related to the Humboldt Bay Jetties, which were built by the Corps. A cultural affiliation study conducted by Statistical Research Inc. for the Corps found the human remains were likely to be lineal descendants of the Wiyot people, based on ethnographic, linguistic, osteological and archaeological data. Further research conducted by UC Berkeley in 2021 indicated that these individuals were likely victims of the Indian Island Massacre, which took place on Feb. 26, 1860, when settlers attacked numerous Wiyot villages.
  • USACE Vicksburg District announces temporary outlet closure at Arkabutla Lake

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District announces the outlet gates at Arkabutla Lake will be temporarily closed starting Jan. 25.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works studies, projects, and programs to be accomplished with Bipartisan Infrastructure law funding

    WILMINGTON, N.C. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on 19 January 2022, the Civil Works
  • USACE Vicksburg District announces temporary closure of Lost Bluff Hiking Trail at Grenada Lake

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District has temporarily closed the Lost Bluff Hiking Trail at Grenada Lake.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center opens new Supercomputing Research Facility

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Information Technology Lab (ITL) held a ribbon cutting for two new, state-of-the-art Supercomputing Research Center (SRC) facilities in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
  • Pomme de Terre Reservoir to increase water releases temporarily

    Pomme de Terre Reservoir will conduct a test release starting on February 14, 2022, by ramping up water releases to 1,500 cubic feet per second then increasing to 3,500 cfs early in the morning on February 15. The test release will continue at 3,500 cfs into Feb. 16 and start the ramp down process by the end of that day. The test release is in conjunction with work being done to update the Pomme de Terre Reservoir Water Control Manual.
  • Middle East District awards FMS Contract for Dredging in Saudi Arabia

    The Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) awarded a contract for dredging and associated efforts required for construction of facilities and infrastructure to support the introduction of four Multi Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) Ships at King Abdulaziz Naval Base, Jubail, Saudi Arabia.