The opening of the newly dredged channel in Neabsco Creek was recently made official with a ribbon cutting ceremony held on a pontoon boat on the creek waters leading to the Potomac River.
About a year ago, the U.S. Coast Guard closed the channel to boat traffic because silt and sediment in the channel made it too shallow for safe navigation.
To get the channel back in shape, the Board of County Supervisors teamed up with the Virginia Port Authority and the newly formed Neabsco Creek, LLC, to get the dredging done.
The board authorized $725,325 in grant funding to dredge the creek, which is used by an estimated 1,000 boats docked and stored at four marinas along the creek.
The Virginia Port Authority contributed $194,330 to the project, and Neabsco Creek LLC, a group of business owners along the creek, kicked in approximately $150,000 to dredge their marinas at the same time the channel was being dredged.
“ A new marina is under construction and will open soon, and a boat rental company has recently expanded — all because of the dredging, ” Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi said. “ This is quite a feat. Not only just to help the dozen or so businesses and the … jobs that we have here, but to also expand it? That’s the real legacy of this project. ”
According to Principi, the dredging removed more than 20 tons of silt from the channel to provide for boater safety, commerce, jobs and the protection of the environment.