Posted on May 28, 2025
A project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge 6,000 cubic yards of sand from Mattituck Inlet has been set for fall 2025, according to Army Corps of Engineers spokesman James D’Ambrosio.
The project is scheduled to align with the end of shorebird season and will take a maximum of 45 days to complete, Mr. D’Ambrosio said. Navigation through the inlet is not expected to be halted during that time.
Dredging of the inlet has been planned so that the waterway maintains the federally mandated depth of at least seven feet at low tide.
The $2.5 million needed to fund the project was allotted through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2022. No outside contractors will be used in the project as Mr. D’Ambrosio said the Army Corps of Engineers will utilize its own dredge, the multi-purpose vessel Brandy Station, and its crew of Army Corps employees.
The sand will be dredged from the northern side of the DEC boat ramp, located on Naugles Drive just after the first bend in the inlet when moving south past the two jetties, according to Mattituck Park District clerk Chris Shashkin. The sand was deemed free of contaminants by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The remaining sand will be dredged from the southern side of Bailie Beach, also in Mattituck Inlet. All of the dredged sand will be transported by pipe to the northern side of Bailie Beach facing the Long Island Sound.
Equipment will be brought in from Bailie Beach Road once the guard rail is temporarily removed. Bulldozers will flatten and move the sand to where it is needed most, according to Mr. Shashkin.
The Army Corps of Engineers has already obtained a permit from the state DEC and is applying for a Southold Town Trustees permit to complete the dredging project. The park district will also need to grant the Army Corps approval to access Bailie Beach for the project.
A separate $3 million dredging project in Mattituck harbor was initiated by the Army Corps of Engineers in October 2024. West Sayville-based contractor Seacoast Construction completed the work, according to a previous Suffolk Times report.
During the 2024 dredging project, crews removed 9,985 cubic yards of sediment. The dredged sediment was then transported by barge to the Beneficial Dredge Facility in Staten Island to be processed. It was later used as landfill cover.
