Okeechobee Waterway dredging set for late February

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has just announced that they will begin dredging sections of the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW) in the vicinity of Jensen Beach and Stuart (Reach 3) and Palm City (Reach 4) by the end of February 2021.

According to the Corps, maintenance dredging along the OWW is expected to start by the end of February 2021 and be completed no later than the first week of July 2021.

The project will include dredging approximately 42,000 cubic yards of material from Reach 3, and 30,000 cubic yards of material from Reach 4.

Dredge material will be placed in a newly constructed Dredge Material Management Area (DMMA-07), located at the southern end of Reach 4, upland from the St. Lucie Canal Locks just south of the Florida Turnpike Bridge.

Reach 3 begins near Jensen Beach and travels west-southwest to just north of the Palm City Veterans Memorial Bridge. Reach 4 continues southward through Palm City and terminates at the St. Lucie Lock.

Dredging operations will be undertaken in 12-hour shifts, seven days per week until completion. Unforeseeable delays in the schedule could result in dredging operations being re-scheduled to a 24-hours per day, seven days per week timeline to meet completion target, reported USACE.

The OWW maintenance dredging is being executed under a contract awarded to Cavache Inc., of Pompano Beach, Fla., in the amount of $3,082,230.