Posted on October 6, 2016
By Peregrine Frissell, greenwich time
The long-awaited dredging of the Mianus River at Cos Cob Harbor is finally here — almost.
The contractor working with the Army Corps of Engineers on the project is set to begin the week of Oct. 10, said project manager Jack Karalius.
“We have already issued public notices and the town has been in contact with all the waterfront property owners and folks nearby,” Karalius said. “All the marinas are aware we are coming in, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. This project has been on and off for years now.”
Karalius said the Army Corps intends to dredge about 50,000 cubic yards of material from the channel.
The channel was last dredged in 1985, when 53,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed. In recent years, boaters have complained that so much silt has built up, the channel is barely passable in sections at low tide, and boats frequently scrape mud and debris on the bottom.
Branford-based Coastline Consulting and Development is the prime contractor, which is subcontracting the actual dredge work to Winthrop, Mass.-based Patriot Marine, Karalius said.
He said he hopes the work will be finished by the end of December. The season in which the work can be performed runs from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1.
“Most dredging is done in the middle of winter because that is (when there is) the least amount of biological activity,” Karalius said.
Whether the project is completed on time will depend on a number of factors, including equipment performance,
Workers will begin’ dredging at the project zone’s farthest point upstream, near where East Putnam Avenue crosses the river.
The project will restore the channel to its authorized dimensions of 6 feet deep and 100 feet wide. Near the top it will narrow to 75 feet wide.
The contractor will use a mechanical dredge to scoop the sediment, mostly fine-grain clay and silt, and place it on scows. Tug boats will then tow the scows about eight miles to the Western Long Island Sound Disposal Site, where the sediment will be dumped.
Source: greenwich time
