The day a 3-inch rock jammed our cutterhead for 8 hours straight

Last month on the Delaware River project, we were moving along fine until we hit a patch of riverbed that felt way too solid. The whole dredge shook and the pump pressure spiked. Turns out a single, smooth rock about the size of a softball had gotten wedged in the cutterhead just right. We tried everything, even reversing the suction, but it wouldn't budge. It took my whole crew and a diver with a pry bar most of a shift to finally clear it. Has anyone else had a small rock cause a huge shutdown like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielmason7d ago

That "single, smooth rock" part gets me. It's always the one stupid thing you don't see coming. A whole shift gone because of a softball. Sounds like a brutal day on the water. Just the worst kind of luck how it jams in there perfect.

tarag287d ago

Sounds like a pretty standard jam to me. Eight hours seems like a long time for a softball.