Posted on June 20, 2016
A multi-million dollar dredging project in the Manasquan River will begin in July, a state official confirmed.
The project includes the Lower Manasquan, Wills Hole, Wills Hole West, Kings Bridge, and Crabtown Creek in Brielle, Manasquan, Point Pleasant, and Point Pleasant Beach.
The dredging spoils will be placed within a confined disposal facility (CDF) between the Wills Hole Thoroughfare and the Manasquan River proper.
According to the Ocean County Park System, the project will impact Gull Island County Park, which is in the Manasquan River and also accessible by a boat or kayak.
The project, which will move roughly between 90,000 and 100,000 cubic yards of sand, will utilize a portion of the island for some of the dredging material.
While most of the spoils will go into the CDF, crews will deposit usable sand on the Manasquan beach.
The $3.36 million state contract was awarded to Village Dock Contracting, Inc. of Port Jefferson, New York earlier this year.
Since Hurricane Sandy, the federal government has dredged the Manasquan Inlet channel to remove shoaling and improved the inlet’s north jetty.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Manasquan River “provides a safe, reliable navigation channel for commercial, recreational, and the U.S. Coast Guard, with an annual direct fish value of over $22 million per year.”
Source: JSHN
