Posted on May 15, 2019
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – The Isle of Palms dredge disposal area looks more prominent as you cross the Isle of Palms connector.
It’s been there for decades but only lately has the Army Corps of Engineers excavated the area to make room for more dredge material.
Sean McBride with the Army Corps of Engineers said it’s been a disposal site for Atlantic Inter-coastal Waterway dredge material for decades.
He said crews are working to create more space to pump dredge material into.
From up above, the area looks like a road, or racetrack.
“I tell all my friends it’s Intercoastal Raceway,” said John Bushong, a retired Naval officer. “And then I have to laugh and tell them the truth. But they’re all concerned because they think somebody is going to develop it and that’ll never happen because of the cost of disposing of dredge spoil if the corps were to lose the dredge spoil area to development.”
McBride said crews are working on raising the dike and should be finished with that this summer.
The dredge material has to be dumped somewhere, and it has to removed so the waterway stays at the proper depth for boat traffic.
“A lot of people think it’s ugly and people just don’t understand when they see a lot of heavy equipment moving around and building what looks like a road,” Anne Bushong said. “I think there’s all this fear that there’s going to be luxury condos, or apartments there but once they understand the purpose of the waterway.”
The Bushongs said they saw some equipment get moved off the dredge dump island early Tuesday morning.
Source: live5news.com
