Posted on September 17, 2026
Dredging is set to begin next month on the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, starting in the area of the Route 9 bridge in Lewes.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced work to dredge over six miles of the canal, from the bridge to Rehoboth Bay, will start in October and be completed by March.
Cottrel Contracting Corporation of Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $9.6 million contract for the job, which will dredge about 89,000 cubic yards of sediment from the canal, a USACE news release said.
Work is required to impact navigation in the canal as little as possible, USACE spokesman Stephen Rochette said, but a significant width of the canal likely will be blocked for the duration of the project.
The Lewes-Rehoboth Canal connects the Delaware Bay with Rehoboth Bay, running through areas of Lewes, Cape Henlopen State Park and Rehoboth Beach.
It’s utilized by commercial and recreational users, research vessels and the Delaware Bay and River Cooperative, whose mission is oil spill emergency response and cleanup in the Delaware River and Bay, the USACE news release said.
The northern end of the canal, between the bridge and Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes, was dredged in 2024.
