Posted on September 25, 2025
BERKELEY – The dredging of channels in Berkeley and Lacey is beginning this month and is expected to be completed around February.
The State Department of Transportation announced that the $9.5 million project will be performed by H&L Contracting. They will dredge fine sand and silt from multiple channels within the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, including:
- Stouts Creek Channel
- Stouts Creek Spur A
- Stouts Creek Spur B
- Laurel Harbor Channel South
- Laurel Harbor Channel North
- Worden’s Oyster Pond
- Cedar Creek Channel
- Cedar Creek Channel Spur
- Whites Creek Channel
- Clamming Creek South Channel
- Clamming Creek North Channel
The goal is to create depths of between four and six feet in all of the channels. Dredging operations will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week, officials said.
The area is expected to remain open during this time, and caution is advised when boating nearby. If there is a closure, there will be a notification through the Local Notice to Mariners. State Aids to Navigation (ATON) will be removed as necessary for the duration of the project.
The DOT asked that no one enter the construction areas nor approach equipment and dredges. Boaters should proceed through dredging and construction zones with caution. No wake speed should be observed in active work zones.
Boaters can contact the contractor for meeting/passing arrangements on Channel 65. Stay alert for the pipeline, buoys, dredge, and other maritime construction equipment.
The marsh habitat is important to protect nearby property from floods, storm surges and extreme weather, officials said. This dredging project is part of a multi-phase effort to restore 109 acres of marshland.
Anyone with questions can contact the NJDOT Community Relations Office via phone at 609-963-1982 or via email at dot-ccr.communityrelations@dot.nj.gov
