Cleveland Harbor Fall Dredging Completed in Just Over Two Weeks; Completes $11.7M Annual Operation

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District completed fall dredging of Cleveland Harbor in just over two weeks. Fall dredging started Oct. 26 and was completed Nov. 11 as part of an $11.7 million contract awarded in April 2026 to New York-based DMYLES, Inc. for all 2026 dredging in Cleveland. Fall dredging removed approximately 60,000 cubic yards of sediment from the federal navigation channel in the upper Cuyahoga River, including 10,000 cubic yards added to the contract to address critical areas of shoaling and support local industry needs. Of the approximately 260,000 cubic yards of sediment dredged from Cleveland Harbor in 2026, 110,000 cubic yards were beneficially used through recycling at the Port of Cleveland’s sediment processing management facility, and 150,000 cubic yards were placed in the port’s confined disposal facility 12.

Dredging of Cleveland Harbor is conducted twice annually by USACE, based on need and the availability of funding. The harbor was last dredged in 2025, with 255,651 cubic yards of sediments removed. Cleveland Harbor is a deep draft commercial harbor which handled 13.8 million tons of cargo, including iron ore (64%), limestone (16%) and salt (9%) in 2023. Waterborne transportation facilitated by the harbor supports $646.1 million in business revenue, 2,329 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and $142.6 million in labor income to the transportation sector. Authorized