The Government Dredge THOMPSON is used primarily for hydraulic dredging, and contract dredges are used for mechanical dredging. Christened by William Thompson's granddaughter in March 1937, it arrived in Fountain City, WI on May 22, 1937. It was built by Dravo Corporation out of Pittsburgh, PA. Thompson who worked for the Army Corps of Engineers from 1878-1925. Paul District) is a cutterhead dredge, better suited to the river's upper reaches. Of the Corps' Mississippi fleet, only the Thompson (St. The Dredge Thompson is a USACE vessel under mission to conduct dredging operations along the upper part of the Mississippi River. The sediment and water is suctioned up a long tube. On the Thompson, there's a cutter with teeth that churns up the material. It's used when the area being dredged is too small and too costly for the more common hydraulic dredging, which is the kind performed with the Dredge Thompson. Mechanical dredging is when a crane and barge are used to remove sediment off the river floor.

Yards per hour for small dredge