Dredging work to get under way in St. Joseph Harbor

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District will this week begin dredging 29,500 cubic yards of shoaling near the entrance to St. Joseph Harbor.

USACE maintains about 1.5 miles of federal navigation channel to a depth of up to 21 feet in the harbor entrance and river channel, as well as 18 feet in the turning basin.

About 40,000 cubic yards of shoaling have been removed annually from the mouth of the St. Joseph River, which allows access for the U.S. Coast Guard and larger commercial vessels. USACE removed about 20,000 cubic yards in 2022 and 102,000 cubic yards in 2023 from the harbor.

The King Company, of Holland, Mich., is contracted to complete the $693,000 project funded from the 2024 Fiscal Year President’s Budget (PBUD).

Dredging material will be placed for beach nourishment at the state-permitted area south of Park Street and extending southward 3,000 feet, through Lions Park, to the Water Filtration Plant.

The St. Joseph Harbor dredging project is expected to be completed in late August 2024.