Dredging work moves ahead at Marina del Rey Harbor entrance

Maintenance dredging of the Marina del Rey Harbor entrance channel is underway and is scheduled to be complete in May, said USACE.

The construction contract was awarded to HME Construction in late November, and work began January 1.

The LA District is working alongside several project partners, including the U.S. Coast Guard and LA County’s Department of Beaches and Harbors, Harbor Patrol and Department of Public Works.

The project removes built-up sediment from the entrance channel and ensures the waterway remains safe and navigable for the more than 4,200 recreational boats docked at the harbor, as well as first responders and Coast Guard vessels.

“We typically dredge this harbor every five to seven years for navigation safety,” said Victor Andreas, project manager with the LA District. “There’s shoaling that’s occurring on the north side of the harbor, so we come in here and dredge it to open it up so vessels can go in and out.”

The project is a 24-hour-a-day operation and is expected to remove between 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of underwater material from the harbor’s north jetty.

The material is dredged from the harbor’s entrance and sand traps, transported on a dump scow and deposited two miles away near the shore of Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey.