MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 28, 2010 – The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will
rededicate their Dredge Hurley at a 1 p.m. ceremony on June 1, 2010. The rededication follows major
work done on the vessel since last September. The ceremony will take place at the Corps’ Ensley
Engineer Yard located on McKellar Lake at 2915 Riverport Road in Memphis.
Over the last nine months the Corps has lengthened the 11-year-old Hurley from 305 to 353 feet
and installed a longer “ladder” – the steel frame arm supporting the suction head. The suction head is the “business” end of the vessel and performs the dredging function. Previously able to dredge to a depth of 40 feet, the Hurley’s reach now extends to 75 feet, allowing it to work in the Mississippi River’s deep draft channel below Baton Rouge, La.
Put simply, Corps workers enlarged the Hurley by slicing off the front section of the vessel,
installing enormous steel sections to add length and strength, and welded it back together. Crews also
made additional upgrades to other systems on the vessel while it was in the Corps’ floating drydock.
More than 170 people contributed to the project, including workers based in Memphis, and other
Corps employees from Detroit, St. Louis and Vicksburg, Miss. The Corps’ Marine Design Center in
Philadelphia drew up the plans for the project.
Dustpan dredges like the Hurley operate like a large vacuum cleaner. The suction head,
approximately the width of the dredge, is lowered to the river bottom where silt and other materials are
to be removed. High velocity water jets loosen the material which is then drawn up by pumps,
discharged through a dredge pipe and floating pipeline and deposited outside of the navigation channel.
Following the 1 p.m. ceremony and reception, the Hurley will be open for tours by invited guests
and the media. If members of the media plan to attend you are asked to contact the Corps’ Public Affairs office at (901) 544-3005 or 828-0152 in order to coordinate your arrival at and access to Ensley Engineer Yard.
Release no. 10-03