Posted on August 19, 2024
SEATTLE — Dredging of the 11-mile Swinomish Navigation Channel will begin the week of Sept. 9, making it safer for local boaters to navigate.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee the marine safety and access improvement project, being performed by contractor American Construction Co. Inc., of Tacoma, Wash.
Mechanical clamshell dredging is expected to start in the south entrance of the Swinomish Channel. Dredging work will run 24 hours, six days/week with all in-water work to be completed no later than Feb. 15, 2025.
Dredging will occur in the south entrance, the Hole-in-the Wall and Rainbow Bridge areas and the north entrance, to remove approximately 150,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment. The material will be placed at the Rosario Strait open-water disposal site.
The federal navigation channel will remain open for waterway users during dredging operations, but users are advised to slow down, reduce wakes, pay attention to rig marking, be cautious, and maintain a safe distance from all dredging equipment.
Fishermen and other recreational boaters are encouraged to position themselves and/or their gear at least 300 feet from the navigation channel and placement/disposal area to avoid their vessels and gear drifting into the area used by the dredge.
Boats and gear that drift into the navigation channel and/or target placement/disposal area may be damaged or destroyed. Noise during dredging will be minimal but can be amplified and travel a long distance over water.
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One of the Seattle District’s primary missions is to maintain the navigation channels and harbors in the Pacific Northwest. Maintenance and navigation dredging are performed frequently in harbor areas, ports and marinas.
Illustration of a map of the Swinomish Channel, a federal navigation channel located between the eastern shore of Fidalgo Island and the mainland at the western edge of Skagit County, Washington. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials will oversee operations to dredge accumulated shoaling along the 11-mile long, 100-feet wide, and 12-feet deep channel, to provide safe passage for vessels transiting between Skagit Bay and Padilla Bay, Washington.
