AVALON — The ability to navigate through back bays and harbors here is expected to significantly improve with the upcoming maintenance dredging this fall of Long Reach and Whale Harbor.
The project, set to begin this September, will be completely funded by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and administered through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bureau of Coastal Engineering, which awarded a contract for the work to Albert Marine Construction, Inc. of Forked River.
A DOT representative of Coastal Engineering will be at the Borough Council meeting tonight to present more details of the project and address any questions.
Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton, of Hatch Mott MacDonald, said the dredging of the back bays is required to be completed by the end of the year.
The borough secured permits for private boats slips within Whale Harbor, therefore homeowners with boat slips along the waterway can have slips dredged without the need to secure individual permits for the work, Thornton said. Borough officials encourage homeowners to take advantage of this opportunity.
Dredging private slips is usually a very costly and time-consuming process due to stringent environmental regulations, sediment sampling, dredged material disposal, etc. However, since the borough included the private slips within its permits, homeowners will have the opportunity to dredge slips under the borough’s permits at a reduced cost. Thornton said the opportunity would not arise for another 25 years, the normal cycle between dredging projects.
The borough is not paying for the private slips to be dredged, only allowing those slips located within the work area to have work done under the borough’s permit. Albert Marine is expected to provide the most competitive price for the work since their equipment is mobilized to dredge Whale Harbor.
Work outside of the navigable channel is not authorized under the project’s Federal and State permits other than dredging of boat slips to a maximum of six feet below mean low water. The borough will observe the dredging to ensure the contractor does not violate the conditions of the permits.
Residents interested in having their slips dredged under the borough’s permit are required to sign an agreement indemnifying the borough against losses or claims resulting from the work.
Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 ext. 24 or at: ltruluck @cmcherald.com
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