Long-awaited harbor dredging to start in July – Coastal Observer

Long-awaited harbor dredging to start in July – Coastal Observer

Dredging equipment is expected to move into the Georgetown harbor in early July as part of a project to restore the channel to a depth of 12 feet. “We are pleased to report that the dredging contract has been officially finalized and awarded,” Dylan Burnell, a public affairs specialist for the Charleston District of the Army Corps of Engineers, said in an email last week. County Council is due to get a presentation about the project this week. The Corps stopped maintenance dredging the harbor in 2008 because of low traffic to the port. The state gave the port property to the county in 2023 along with about 200 acres that were designated as a spoils site for harbor dredging. In 2024, $6.5 million was included in the federal budget for dredging the channel from the harbor entrance past the Harborwalk, the steel mill and the bypass channel. The 12-foot depth would match the Intracoastal Waterway. In some places the channel is only 2 feet deep. The contractor will start mobilizing equipment next month. “We estimate that the physical dredging operations will take a few months to complete,” Burnell said.