Taylor Creek dredging about to begin

St. Lucie County, Florida, will begin dredging Taylor Creek in early August to remove unwanted silt and muck from the bottom of the waterway.

This $2.7 million project is entirely funded through grants from the South Florida Water Management District, Florida Inland Navigation District and a Legislative appropriation administered through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

“Crews expect to remove roughly 76,000 cubic yards of muck sediments from the FEC Railroad Bridge to the Intracoastal Waterway channel. The dredge spoil material will be dried and placed adjacent to the St. Lucie County’s dredging spoil site on the Treasure Coast International Airport property. Once it is dried out, the spoil site will be emptied for future re-use,” said the County.

Roughly seven feet of muck has built up in the navigation channel since it was last dredged in July 2004.

The removal of muck sediments will restore safe navigation within the Taylor Creek basin and also contribute to the overall health of the Indian River Lagoon, by improving water quality and clarity. 

Mobilization for this project is scheduled to start this week, with the actually work taking place in early August and lasting nine to 12 months.

The engineer for the project is Dredging & Marine Consultants with Gator Dredging serving as the main contractor.