Curtis Bay Coal Terminal Useful Life Study

Client

Halcrow (now CH2M HILL)
22 Cortland Street
New York, New York 10007

Completion Date

February, 2010

Project Description

Halcrow is a large engineering/consulting firm that offers planning, design and management services for developing infrastructure and buildings worldwide. The firm specializes in the big issues that affect industry and communities – water, transportation, energy, and creating places to live and work. The New York office specializes in waterfront design and management including: container, liquid/dry bulk, general cargo, roll-on roll-off, ferry terminals; marine infrastructure; breakwaters; and quays, wharfs, and jetties. The office has been involved in a number of coal/bulk ports in the US and overseas.

Halcrow’s New York office was engaged to complete a desk study evaluation for the remaining useful life of the Curtis Bay Coal Terminal, also known as the Bay Side Coal Terminal. The schematic below illustrates this facility, which is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Halcrow engaged Energy Associates to assist on the coal handling elements of the assignment.

The Bay Side Coal Pier was placed in service in late-1981 and formally dedicated on August 6th, 1982. The facility unloads CSX trains via a rotary dumper. Coal is stockpiled by an overhead conveyor system that uses eight (8) lowering wells. The reclaim system includes two (2) tunnel reclaim conveyors, each fitted with multiple vibrating feeders. Ships are loaded at 6000 tph. The useful life assessment considered functional suitability, capacity/utilization, cost/efficiency, safety/compliance, and siting issues. It cited a number of examples and projected the remaining useful based upon these factors.