Dredge Jadwin Finishes Season

The Vicksburg Engineer District’s Dredge Jadwin and its crew returned to the Vicksburg Harbor January 19, completing the 2022 dredging season.

After departing May 10, 2022, the dustpan dredge spent 254 days on the water and relocated 6.2 million cubic yards of material from the Mississippi River. A normal dredging season lasts approximately 160 days.

Due to extreme low-water events on the Mississippi River, the 89-year-old Jadwin also supported the St. Paul, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and Little Rock Corps of Engineer districts.

“Dredging is an essential mission to ensure safe and reliable navigation for our nation,” Vicksburg District Commander Col. Christopher Klein said. “We’re incredibly appreciative of the Jadwin crew and their months of dedication and service through the most recent Mississippi River low-water event. They answered the call and are heroes of the waterways.”

First launched in 1933, The Jadwin is a 274-foot, 2,400 hp. dustpan dredge that is capable of dredging as deep as 68 feet. It has a height of four stories and normally performs dredging duties on the Mississippi River and its ports along the river from May to December, when required.

Dustpan dredges are unique to the Mississippi River and work to maintain a navigable channel for commercial navigation to move unimpeded. The Jadwin has a large suction head with high-velocity water jets that loosen the silt and sand materials on the riverbed. The material is then pumped through a floating pipeline and deposited outside the navigation channel near the riverbank.