Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Plans Conveyor Load-Out On Cumberland River
Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company of Salem, Ky., has filed an application for a permit modification to allow a conveyor load-out system at its existing facility on the Cumberland River.
The application, posted on the Nashville Engineer District’s website, seeks to modify the structure from a truck load-out to a conveyor load-out system.
The proposal would replace the existing 50- by 195-foot jumbo barge secured to the shoreline by deadmen with a 35- by 195-foot standard barge anchored by spuds and the two existing deadmen.
Two spuds would be centered at the aft and bow ends of the barge and would be 36 inches in diameter and 75 feet long. The new conveyor and barge would be placed within the same footprint and maintain the existing riverward extension of approximately 100 linear feet. No dredging or additional fleeing is needed.
Pine Bluff said in its application that the proposed facility would not increase production or barge traffic and is proposed to improve safety and stability. Due to the varying water elevations, especially during high-water events, the spuds would allow the barge to easily rise and fall. The deadmen anchors would work as a secondary anchorage method.
The conveyor system would be located at Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel’s existing barge facility at Cumberland River Mile 14.5 on the right bank in Salem, Ky. The application notes the original permit was issued in 2001 to a previous owner, Cumberland River Resources, for construction of the existing fixed barge loadout terminal, with modifications authorized in 2011, 2014 and 2017.
