New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials have announced the start of navigation dredging in the Sloop Creek and Lavallette Channel next week as the Metedeconk Channels Dredging project in Ocean County is completed ahead of schedule.
The $16 million Metedeconk Channels project, which was expected to continue through December 2019, is completing in the next week – two months early.
The Office of Maritime Resources (OMR), working with the H&L Contracting, made the decision to add the Sloop Creek and Lavallette Channel to the existing contract to maximize available time left in the dredging season.
NJDOT was prepared with permits to do this work and this will enabled OMR to conduct the additional work that would have otherwise had to wait until next summer.
According to NJDOT, dredging in Sloop Creek in Berkeley Township is scheduled to start on or about October 24 and is expected to be finished in a few weeks.
Dredging in Lavallette Channel in Lavallette will begin directly after Sloop Creek and is anticipated to last through December 31, 2019.
As reported, NJDOT’s contractor (H&L Contracting) will be mechanically dredging the channels to an authorized depth of five feet below mean low water (-5 MLW) with one foot of allowable over-dredge.
An estimated 86,000 cubic yards will be removed taken by barge to the placement location known as Dredge Hole 25 (DH25) – off the coast of West Point Island in Lavallette.
The Metedeconk Creek project restored the following State channels in Barnegat Bay to their authorized depth: Upper Metedeconk River Channel (6ft.), Green Cove Channel (5ft), Beaver Damn Creek North and South (5ft.), Bay Head Channel, Winter Yacht Basin, Kettle Creek-Sailors Quay (5 ft.) and Kettle Creek (5ft.) with one foot of allowable over-dredge, respectively.