Posted on June 27, 2016
Emergency dredging is still underway in the Destin Harbor and is slated to be complete before July 4th weekend.
Panhandle Machine and Supply, Inc. from Blountstown, Fla. was contracted to do the emergency dredging, which began June 7th. Aside from a popped hose Wednesday night that was fixed Thursday morning, the dredging project has run smoothly and is projected to be completed by next week.
“We want to be finished dredging before July 4th weekend because the boat traffic there (in the harbor) is just phenomenal,” said Joe Bodi, engineering assistant for the City of Destin.
The project will likely pause this weekend due to the heavy boat traffic and will resume Monday morning.
The emergency dredging was needed to make way for the increasingly heavy boat traffic. The shoal was extending nearly 50 feet into the 100 foot mouth of the harbor, making it dangerous for larger boats to move in and out of the channel.
“We were hoping to wait to dredge until we stabilized Norriego Point,” said David Cambell, public words director for the City of Destin. “But (the shoal) was endangering our ability to safely use the channel.”
The City will move to stabilize Norriego Point towards the end of this year. Upon completion of the emergency dredging, they will move to Joe’s Bayou to perform maintenance dredging at the busy boat ramp. That will begin after July 4th weekend.
Source: theDestinlog
