In May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District released a Barren Island Construction Phase 2 Safety Announcement.
The announcement urges mariners to use extreme caution when accessing the water immediately west of Barren Island and avoid the construction safety zone and deploying fishing gear within the fishing gear exclusion zone.
All recreational and commercial water users should be aware of safety concerns within the waters surrounding Barren Island, use extreme caution, reduce speeds, and avoid entering the Construction Safety Zones, according to USACE.
There will be multiple vessels anchoring at the Barge Moorings and moving between the navigation channel and Barren Island. Sand required for construction will be dredged from Borrow Area B and transported or piped to Barren Island.
During Phase 2, mariners can expect to see increased barge and vessel activity as well as marked material pipes. The Barge Mooring locations and Borrow Area B are located approximately 1.2 Nautical miles west of Barren Island.
Transportation areas between the navigation channel, Borrow Area B and Barren Island are marked with physical buoys, and are indicated by the Fishing Gear Exclusion Zone. USACE advises watermen not to deploy equipment within the Fishing Gear Exclusion Zone. All work vessels will monitor VHF-FM Channel 13 and 16.
Phase 2 construction at Barren Island is part of the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Project.
A Barren Island Construction Safety Fact Sheet is available on the USACE website.
To learn more about the USACE, MPA and Mid-Bay Project, please visit: https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Mid-Bay/ and https://maryland-dmmp.com/.
source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District
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