The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Buffalo District has completed this year’s dredging of Sandusky Harbor, removing approximately 109,000 cubic yards of sediment from the federal navigation channel to keep the Lake Erie port safe and navigable for commercial vessels, recreational boaters and other harbor users, the Corps announced on November 5.
The work, which started October 6, was completed under a $628,000 contract awarded in July 2026 to Michigan-based Morrish-Wallace Construction Co., according to the Corps of Engineers. Crews mechanically dredged the Moseley and Straight channels: about 100,000 cubic yards of the material was placed in a nearshore site, where local currents deposit it along the coastline in a process that mimics natural beach nourishment, and 9,000 cubic yards went to a designated open-lake site, the Corps said.
“Completing dredging in Sandusky Harbor is another mark of the Corps of Engineers’ dedication to efficiency, good stewardship of American taxpayer dollars, and delivery of a critical mission the Corps of Engineers is known for,” Lt. Col. Aaron Anderson, commander of the Buffalo District, said in the Corps’ announcement. “This work ensures vessels remain safe, ports across Ohio and the Great Lakes keep thriving, and the U.S. economy stays strong.”
Sandusky Harbor is a deep-draft commercial harbor that handled 2.6 million tons of cargo in 2023 — 90% of it coal and lignite, plus petroleum coke and coal coke — and supports more than $322 million in economic impact annually, according to the Corps of Engineers. Waterborne transportation through the harbor supports $266.8 million in business revenue, 864 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and $55.5 million in labor income to the transportation sector, the Corps said.
Authorized depths in the harbor range from 21 to 26 feet, with the shallowest water in the Straight Channel and the deepest in the Moseley Channel, and the Corps maintains those depths so large vessels can move safely and efficiently, according to the announcement.
The harbor was last dredged in 2025, when about 9,000 cubic yards of material were removed and placed in the open lake. Sandusky Harbor is dredged annually, depending on shoaling conditions, funding availability and federal navigation priorities, the Corps said — which makes this year’s 109,000-cubic-yard project a substantially larger lift than last year’s maintenance pass.
What happens next: the cleared channel carries Sandusky through the remainder of the Great Lakes shipping season and into winter, and the nearshore placement will keep feeding sediment to Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline as currents move it along the coast.