×
×
homepage logo
STORE

Dredging operation update

By Staff | Jul 1, 2009

BOB PETCHER photo Dredgequarters: This is headquarters for the dredging team of Southwind Construction, a contractor from Evansville, Ind.

The dredging of Matanzas Pass Channel Cuts 1 and 2 is about 75 percent complete in terms of the volume of shoaling removed from the channel as of today June 25. Approximately 160,000 cubic yards of shoal materials have been removed from the channel limits so far.

A portion of the channel just north and west of Bowditch Point approximately 1,500 feet in length and 200 feet wide has now been cleared to a 14-foot depth. The remaining dredging will be in a generally southwestward direction in the outer Cut-1 channel west of Bowditch Point.

There remains about 800 linear feet of channel to be cleared during the

remaining dredging as the dredge moves westward. There are approximately

55,000 cubic yards of shoaling remaining to be removed from the outer channel to complete this project. Recently the dredge has been on standby for about three days due to relatively high winds and seas which primarily affect the nearshore fill discharge operation and cause the dredging to be temporarily halted until the weather improves and the seas calm. The nearshore fill operation has progressed 5,000 feet south from the start point offshore of the Lani Kai Resort, to an area offshore of Pompano Street near Beach Access 24 (editor side note: nearshore fill has been unloaded offshore due to sand quality not matching beach and south of Lani Kai so that sand does not drift back into channel).

Dredging and the nearshore fill operation are expected to resume as soon as weather permits, and it is estimated the dredging will require at least seven more working days to complete the project. So, the project could be completed as early as July 2, but there is the possibility it could take slightly longer to complete if more weather standby days occur, or if there are any dredging equipment problems. I estimate the work should be completed by mid-July at the latest.

Submitted by Andy Cummings

Project Engineer

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers