177 waterways to get their goods to market. And funds are never enough to cover all areas in need of upkeep. NavPortal helps surface the most cost-effective maintenance strategies. The digital twin approach of scenario planning can consider more variables and answer more complicated questions. Timing is critical. The corps owns some dredges, but most projects involve contractors. It’s a timeconsuming, multistep process to procure a dredge. Each permit undergoes environmental review. And most places have months when they can’t dredge because of threatened species, such as sea turtles. Sediment will accumulate and channels can become impassable if there are delays with dredge contracting or if infill rates exceed historical norms. Better coordination with awareness of conditions can make the most of each investment. By sequencing projects based on proximity, the engineers become proactive rather than reactive. They can also align projects with areas that need the dredged material, such as eroded beaches or shrinking wetland habitat. Another strategy maintains channels at depths greater than required for shipping to allow for more time between dredging. These complex constraints and opportunities provide a lot to consider when the conditions can’t wait. The NavPortal digital twin helps corps analysts account for more variables, allowing them to test and iterate before committing to a plan. “We’re hoping data can inform and, in some cases, change some long-standing ways of thinking,” Mitchell said. “Now that we have data and quantitative trends, we can look at the life cycle equation. We can follow where the data leads to know if new approaches are cost-effective.” Infrastructure Seven dredges moved nine million cubic yards of material at 70 different locations along 300 miles of river channel in the US Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Louis District in 2022. A normal average is three to four million cubic yards with just two dredges working. Photo courtesy of USACE, photo by Janet Meredith. The ability to view current vessel traffic and depth data creates a living map that can be queried to provide new levels of awareness about volatile parameters.
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