J.E. Borries Inc., a full-service marine construction and dredging company based on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, recently took delivery of an 8-inch Badger Class dredge by DSC Dredge, LLC.
Prior to this dredge purchase, J.E. Borries had completed all of its dredging work by mechanical means, using a long-reach excavator or a clamshell friction crane.
Barrier island reconstruction is an ongoing effort along this section of the Mississippi coast following the siltation that occurred during Hurricane Isaac in 2012.
The company recently was awarded a project by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources to complete the dredging of three bayous in and around Gulfport, Mississippi. A change in the plans and specifications for the project necessitated the combined use of both hydraulic and mechanical dredging.
Known as the “SUDS” project, the dredging of the Stark, Upper Davis and Simmons bayous includes initial mechanical excavation, with the fines being deposited into a 200-cubic-yard shallow-draft barge, which transports the material to Deere Island, a barrier island in close proximity to Gulfport. The material comprises sandy silt with minor amounts of “gumbo” clay (sticky black, gray or green-colored clay) and shells.
After reaching Deere Island, the spoils are offloaded into a holding cell and then deepened and turned by the Badger Dredge, which re-excavates the material and pumps it approximately 2,000 feet away. The dredge depth obtainable to the natural hard sand bottom in the holding cell is 9-feet-plus. By the end of the project, approximately 170,000 cubic yards of material will be deposited on the island for use as fill.
The Badger Class 8” x 8” Cutterhead Dredge is manufactured by DSC at its Greenbush, Michigan, facility. It is ideal for smaller dredging jobs where more compact equipment is required due to work area limitations.
With a working width of just under 10 feet and an overall length of 54 feet including the ladder, the Badger Class dredge can be maneuvered by dredging contractors into harder-to-reach waterways not accessible by larger crafts, yet it still can dig to a depth of 20 feet at a 60-degree down angle on the ladder.
The lateral cut achieved by the Badger Class dredge at maximum depth is approximately 50 feet. The Badger Class dredge is 9 feet, 2 inches tall and can be transported on a single truckload.