Dredging of Cuyahoga River will Ease Ore Boat Passage to Mills

The US Army Corp of Engineers Buffalo District will be dredging the upper and lower Cuyahoga River in 2014 to improve the navigation canal that is used to deliver iron ore to Cleveland’s steel mills. Nearly 10 million tons of cargo travel through Cleveland Harbor and the Cuyahoga River each year according to the Port of Cleveland.

ArcelorMittal praised the April 23 decision saying that dredging is essential for “delivering raw materials needed to operate the ArcelorMittal Cleveland steel mill.” Dredging will deepen the channel which is currently five to six feet below authorized limits. A shallow channel requires ore ships to “light load” reducing ore shipment capacity.