Port of Toledo Launches $5.3 Million Annual Dredging Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 2, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District launched the 2026 annual maintenance dredging project for the Port of Toledo, Ohio, covering the Maumee River federal channel and the lake channel leading to Lake Erie. This year's work is being carried out by Ryba Marine Construction, with plans to remove approximately 750,000 cubic yards of sediment. Construction is expected to continue through January 2027.

This year's work corresponds to a $5.3 million task order issued on August 6, which is the first-year effort under a two-year dredging contract totaling $11.1 million. The second-year task order is expected to be issued in 2027 at approximately $5.8 million. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue to carry out subsequent dredging based on channel shoaling conditions and annual funding availability.

Construction will cover the entire Maumee River federal channel from the upstream turning basin to the mouth of Maumee Bay, and will also dredge portions of the lake channel. The removed sediment will be transported to confined dredged material disposal facilities operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' five-year dredging plan lists this project as the Port of Toledo maintenance dredging task for fiscal year 2026.

The Port of Toledo typically requires the removal of approximately 600,000 to 1.1 million cubic yards of channel sediment each year. The port authority has completed the expansion of the Facility 3 confined disposal facility, adding more than 9.6 million cubic yards of disposal capacity, with plans to meet the Port of Toledo's dredged material disposal needs through 2040. The facility receives dredged material from the federal channel as well as from 13 operating terminals in the port area.

According to Marine Log, the Port of Toledo handles approximately 11 million tons of cargo annually. In 2023, iron ore accounted for about 53% of cargo types, coal and lignite about 22%, and petroleum coke about 3%. Transportation business related to the port's waterborne shipping corresponds to approximately $801.8 million in operating revenue, $237.3 million in labor income, and 2,822 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.