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The Narragansett Times 12/08/2006
NARRAGANSETT -
Nearly three years since plans for the project began, the dredging of Point Judith Pond and the 15-foot-deep navigational channel in Galilee is officially underway.
Members of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and the US Army Corps of Engineers held a small press conference on Wednesday at the Salty Brine State Beach parking lot in Galilee to announce the kick off."The CRMC is pleased to serve as the state dredging sponsor for this project," said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. "Dredging will restore much-needed depth and navigability to the channels and into the pond, and will also help restore a natural sandbar in Matunuck. We applaud all those who helped see this project to fruition."Nancy and Rob Thorenson, owners of Roy Carpenter's Beach, joined members of the Narragansett Town Council in the small crowd that attended the 15-minute conference and expressed their elation that the project is finally underway.
"We need all the help we can get," Nancy told The Times after the event. Some 90,000 cubic yards of sand that will be dredged will be used to replenish a near-shore sandbar off Matunuck Beach in South Kingstown.
Over the winter Matunuck was battered by winter storms that destroyed the boardwalk at the town beach and a shop at Carpenter's.
In June the House Appropriations Committee approved a provision in the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for the upcoming fiscal year that allocated funds for the project.
H.R. 5427 appropriated $30 billion for the 2007 fiscal year, including $2.2 million for the dredging and $334,000 for the Matunuck disposal project.
The nearly 100,000 cubic yards of sand will be removed from about 25 acres in the Point Judith Harbor which has slowly become filled-in with sand and silt, impacting safe passage in and out of the harbor at low tide.
Sand will be taken out of the water by barge-mounted cranes with clam shell buckets and placed into scows, large flat-bottomed boats chiefly used for transporting bulk material.The project aims to restore the entrances to the channel and east and west branch channels, as well as deepen the 10-foot-deep anchorage and shoal areas in Point Judith Pond.
The channel has not been dredged since its construction in 1977.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed applauded all those involved in moving the project forward and preserving the sixth largest fishing port on the East Coast.
"The community depends so much on this channel. The fishing fleets, the Block Island ferry," said Reed.The dredging contract was awarded to Newborn Construction, Inc. based in Center Moriches, NY.
Col. Curtis L. Thalken, commander and district engineer of the US Army Corps of Engineers New England District made sure to thank all staff members involved with the maintenance dredging project and gave a vote of confidence to Newborn Construction.
"They are dedicated professionals that are skilled at what they do," he said.
He estimated the project would be completed by mid March. 