Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project: Coastal Engineering Design and Construction
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XVIII - 2007 Orlando, Florida, USA
Authors:
Kotulak
Abstract: The Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project is one of the success stories regarding the development of a costeffective and environmentally acceptable dredged material placement site for the Port of Baltimore. The project involved the restoration of an eroded island located along the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. This paper addresses the coastal engineering aspects of the planning, design and construction of the project. Specific issues addressed in the paper include: (1) detailed design of the containment dikes with explanation of the optimization design procedures used; (2) physical model testing of the containment structures; (3) construction methodology and costs for the containment structures; and (4) numerical modeling of the impacts of the island development on hydrodynamics, water quality and sedimentation. The paper will also evaluate the performance of the dikes and armor protection in response to high winds and water levels resulting from Hurricane Isabel that passed through the region from September 18, 2003 through September 20, 2003. The importance of this paper is that it serves to summarize the design methods, design, costs and hydrodynamic impacts of one of the largest dredged material placement projects in the United States.
Keywords: Coastal engineering, dike design, modeling, hydrodynamics, optimization