Rhodes Point, Smith Island navigation improvement project site visit

Col. Ed Chamberlayne, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District commander, visits Smith Island with project partners from Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Somerset County to discuss a navigation improvement project at Rhodes Point, Maryland, June 22, 2017. Baltimore District proposes to realign a portion of the federal navigation channel in Sheep Pen Gut through hydraulic dredging; construct two jetties to prevent shoaling in the channel and to reduce the continual need for dredging of material; and create a stone sill along the shoreline to prevent further erosion and contain the dredged material from the project.

This project increases navigational clearance, so boaters don’t run aground due to the shoaling in the area, and it provides boaters from the Smith Island towns of Rhodes Point and Tylerton with more direct access to the Chesapeake Bay. The navigation improvements are anticipated to have long-term beneficial impacts to the local economy, navigation, recreational boaters and safety. Secondary benefits from the project include shoreline protection and restoration.