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North Cove Dredging Begins in Old Saybrook

The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) on Sept. 25 announced award of the North Cove Federal Navigation Project contract for maintenance dredging to DonJon Marine Company of Hillside, New Jersey. The firm’s winning bid was $4,283,562.50.

The dredging work in the entrance channel and 11-foot deep anchorage will begin this month and continue for about three to four months and be done no later than Jan. 31, 2018. Work to clear North Cove’s six-foot deep anchorage could continue until March 31, 2018.

“Approximately 286,000 cubic yards of predominantly silty sediment will be removed by mechanical dredge from the 11-foot deep entrance channel, 11-foot deep anchorage, and 6-foot deep anchorage,” said ACE Project Manager Craig Martin.

The project will remove silty shoal material from the harbor and channel bottoms, place it in dump scows, and then haul it about 35 miles southwest to the Central Long Island Sound Disposal Site.

“With the extensive number of shallow draft projects nationwide competing for limited federal funding, this maintenance event would not have been possible without the financial support of the State of Connecticut and commitment of its Port Authority to make it happen,” Martin said.

State funds allocated to this harbor maintenance project are administered by the Connecticut Port Authority (CPA), a quasi-public entity created in 2014 by legislation signed by Governor Dannel Malloy. The CPA’s headquarters opened recently in Old Saybrook.

The authority’s mission, as presented on its website, is “to coordinate the development of Connecticut’s ports and harbors, while working with other state, local and private entities to maximize the potential of the state’s maritime commerce and industries.” To this end, the CPA “pursue[s] state and federal funds for dredging and other infrastructure improvements and maintain[s] navigability of all ports and harbors.”

In support of the North Cove Federal Navigation Project, the State of Connecticut bonded $7.5 million in 2015 for harbor maintenance and harbor facility improvements which the CPA administers.

The last major maintenance dredging of the North Cove Harbor entrance channel occurred in 2008. At that time, approximately 175,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed.

Two major storms since that date—first Irene and then Sandy—accelerated the deposition of materials in the channel and the harbor anchorages, reducing the harbor and entrance channel’s depth significantly. When this project is completed, the channel and harbor will be returned to design depths.